Fated
by Meshakhad
Summary: What if Joss had been a Buffy/Angel shipper? A rewriting of the series.
1. Ted: Teaser

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, praised be his dark name.  
Rating: Same as the show itself.  
Spoilers: Up to "Ted" for now.  
Series Teaser: What if Joss had been a Buffy/Angel shipper?  
Episode Teaser: Joyce's new boyfriend forces Buffy to consider telling her mom about Angel.  
Author's note: Two things.  
1. The episodes "Ted" and "Bad Eggs" switch places, so we are days away from Buffy's 17th birthday. She is no longer grounded, incidentally.  
2. Everything up to "What's My Line" and "Bad Eggs" is canon. Nothing else is.

* * *

Teaser:

Buffy, Xander, and Willow walked along the street towards their house. Xander and Willow were having a heated discussion which Buffy was ignoring.

"Well, that was her genius. He didn't even know he was playing second fiddle." Xander turned to Buffy. "Buffy."

"Huh?"

"Who do you think was the real power – the Captain or Tenille?"

Confused. "Uh, who are these people?"

"The Captain and Tenille?" Xander got that look he got when people didn't understand his pop culture references. "Boy, someone was sure raised in a culture-free environment."

Buffy sighed. "I'm sorry. I was just –"

"– thinking?" Willow completed.

"No. Not thinking. Having a lot of happy non-thoughts."

"Yeah, with Spike and Drusilla out of the way, we've really been riding the mellow…" Xander got a guilty look on his face, "…and I'm really jinxing the hell out of us by saying that."

"Eh, I'll let you off this time," Buffy dismissed his concerns. She pulled out her keys as she arrived at her door. She put her key into the lock – and the door swung open.

Buffy tensed up. She knew that a door ajar at night was a bad sign. "Wait here," she warned her friends as she stepped inside, stake in hand. From the kitchen, she heard her mom cry "No!" followed by a crash. She rushed into the kitchen, and saw a horrific sight.

Her mom was wrapped in a deep kiss with a big, slightly portly man Buffy had never seen before. There was a bottle of wine on the counter.

They broke the kiss. Joyce stepped away from the man as Buffy hid the stake behind her back.

"I thought I heard…" Buffy started.

"I broke a wine glass," her mom explained. "You're home early."

"Hi," the man said.

"Hi," Buffy replied.

"Oh, uh, this is my daughter, Buffy," Joyce hastily introduced her. "And Buffy, this is… Ted."

End Teaser

* * *

Credits:

Sarah Michelle Gellar  
Nicholas Brendon  
Alyson Hannigan  
David Boreanaz  
Charisma Carpenter  
And Anthony Stewart Head as Giles

Created by Joss Whedon


	2. Ted: Act One

* * *

Buffy leaned against the refrigerator as she talked with her mom.

"So, all these late nights at the gallery, I gather you were cataloguing more than art."

Joyce smiled. "Well… I've been looking for the right moment to introduce you two. He's a wonderful man."

Buffy did not return the smile. "How'd you meet?"

"Oh, he sells computer software. He revamped my entire system at the gallery. Freed up a lot of my free time."

"To meet new people. And smooch them in my kitchen."

"You weren't supposed to see that."

Buffy considered the irony of the situation. She had been carrying on a relationship with Angel for three months now, all without her mother knowing. She always worried that her mother would eventually find out about her and Angel – if not the vampire part, then at least the kissing part.

But apparently, her mother had been carrying on with Ted for a while, all without _Buffy_ knowing. And of the two hidden boyfriends, it had been Ted who had been found out about first, not Angel.

"How long have you been seeing each other?" Buffy asked.

"Oh…" Joyce looked up as she tried to remember "…about two months."

Not as long as Buffy and Angel, than. So Buffy was better at keeping her boyfriend a secret than her mom.

"Buffy, we're leaving," Willow announced. She and Xander went to the door.

"See you!" Buffy called to her friends.

"I'll have your upgrades by Monday!" Ted waved goodbye.

Buffy closed the door. She turned to Ted.

"Upgrades?"

"For Willow's computer."

"Ah." Buffy wasn't as technologically-deficient as, say, Giles, but stuff like upgrades went right over her head.

"Buffy," Ted started, "I want to apologize. That wasn't how I wanted us to met. I wanted it to be... perfect. I'm very fond of your mother, I guess that's pretty obvious..."

He looked at the refrigerator, focusing on a picture of Buffy and her mom.

"…I know that you're the most important thing in her life and, well, gosh, that makes you pretty important to me too."

"I really want you to be okay with this," Joyce added.

"I beg to differ." Ted wrapped his arm around Joyce. "_We_ really want you to be OK with this."

"I'm okay," Buffy insisted.

"You are?" Joyce asked.

"I am."

* * *

A vampire smashed into a picnic table. Buffy didn't let up her assault. Picking up a trash can lid, she whacked him hard in the head. There was no method to her attack, just pure fury.

The vampire wasn't actually putting up that much of a fight, Angel observed. Buffy was clearly working out some personal issues, and this vampire was simply on the receiving end. Which was why Angel was sitting on a bench and not interfering. It was better than how he had worked out such issues when he was Angelus – a spat with Darla could claim twenty lives.

Still, he almost had to feel sorry for the poor vamp.

After Buffy finally staked him, she came over to Angel.

"Any more?" she asked.

"Well, for their sakes, I certainly hope not." In truth, Angel didn't smell any vampires nearby.

"What? I kill vampires, it's my job."

"True, though you don't usually beat them to such a bloody pulp beforehand." Angel shrugged, as his girlfriend sat down beside him. "Is everything all right at home?"

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked.

"Well, when you wail on a vamp like that, it tends to be the result of domestic issues."

Buffy sighed. "It's Ted."

"Ted?"

"This guy, sells computer software. Apparently, Mom's been seeing him for a while now. I walked into their makeout session about an hour ago."

"And, how is that different from you dating a vampire?" Angel replied.

Buffy gave him the "You're right, and I don't like it" look. "It's just, I have so much to deal with, I don't need some new guy in my life right now."

"No, but maybe your mom does."

Another look, this one more sheepish. "Oh, sure, if you're gonna use wisdom…"

Angel smiled at her. "Loneliness is about the scariest thing there is."

Buffy sighed. "OK, fine, Mom needs a guy. Does it have to be Ted?"

"You have somebody else in mind? There a guy out there who would satisfy you?"

"Well… Dad… Okay, that's not going to happen. Fine, fine, I'll give _Ted_ a chance. I'll smile and curtsey and be the dutiful daughter." She smirked. "Does it mean I have to like him?"

"Kiss me," Angel replied.

"Finally something I want to do." Buffy leaned over, and the best part of any encounter between the two began.

* * *

"Willow, if you say one more word about it, things will become dire," Buffy warned.

"You don't like him," Willow observed. She had been geeking out over the upgrades Ted had promised her, and Buffy was not happy about it.

"I don't know him." She scowled. "I mean, so far all I see is someone who apparently has a good job, seems nice and polite, my mom really likes him…"

"What kind of a monster is he?" Xander said in a dramatic voice. Buffy glared at him before continuing.

"I'm telling you, there's just something a little too clean about this clown."

"He's a clean clown!" Willow squealed. At their looks: "I have my own fun…"

"Buff, you're lacking evidence," Xander returned to a more serious tone. "I think we're getting into Sigmund Freud territory."

"He has a point," Willow jumped on this new tack. "Separation anxiety, the mother figure being taken away, conflict with the father figure…"

"He is _not_ my father figure!" Buffy fired back. In truth, Willow knew that Giles was much more of a father figure to Buffy than Ted – or even her actual father.

"Having issues much?" Xander replied.

"I am not!"

Xander pointed and did a little dance: "You're having parental issues, you're having parental issues…" he stopped after seeing their looks. "What? Freud would have said the exact same thing. Except he might not have done that little dance."

Buffy stopped to get a drink from the soda machine. "I admit it's weird – seeing my mother Frenching a guy is definitely a ticket to therapyland. But it's more than that. I'm pretty good at sensing what's going on around me…"

Willow noticed Ted out of the corner of her eye, coming up behind Buffy.

"…and I know that something's wrong with this Ted."

"Ted!" Xander called.

"Of course, Ted. Who did you think I was talking about?" Buffy was confused.

"Hi, Ted! Ted who's here," Xander pointed out. Buffy spun around, shocked to see her mother's boyfriend at her school.

"Hi, kids!" Ted greeted them.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked.

"I'm updating the software in the guidance office, which reminds me…" He pulled a disc out of his shirt and handed it to Willow.

"…your upgrades."

The next minute or so was a blur. Willow heard something about going miniature golfing at the new course on Sunday, but she was so overjoyed to get the upgrades that she didn't hear the details. She was in geek heaven.

* * *

Jenny was cleaning up in the computer lab when she saw Rupert standing in the door.

"Hi, Jenny."

"Rupert. Hi."

He gestured behind him. "A couple crates of your textbooks were dropped off at the library. Do you want me to hold on to them?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll send the kids by to pick them up."

"Right. Good." He started to turn away. Jenny didn't give him a chance to get away.

"That was a pretty flimsy excuse for coming to see me."

He stopped. "You should have heard the ones I threw out." He came back in.

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm doing pretty good, actually." She shelved a set of manuals. "I've stayed out of mortal danger for a month and a half. I could get used to it. Still don't sleep too well, though."

"Of course. Well, you need time."

"Or possibly space." Jenny came closer. "Rupert, I know you're concerned, but having you constantly poking around making puppy dog eyes at me and wondering if I'm okay... you make me feel bad that I don't feel better. I don't want that responsibility."

"I'm sorry," Giles replied. "I certainly don't mean to make dog eyes at you. I'm just –"

"Worried. I know."

"I shouldn't have bothered you."

He left. Jenny looked after him.


	3. Ted: Act Two

"The dreaded five-par cuckoo clock," Xander spoke with dramatic flair. "So many have come. So few have conquered."

Ted chose that moment to ask one of those perfectly normal questions that Buffy couldn't answer truthfully.

"So, Buffy, I'm sure boys are lined up around the block trying to get a date with you."

"Not really," she answered. Buffy had been on enough dates with Angel at the Bronze that most of the school knew she was not single. There was plenty of gossip about who Angel _was_, none of it even close to the truth.

Willow tried to cover as she took her shot. "Oh, they are, but she's only interested in… uh… her studies. Book-cracker Buffy, it's kind of her nickname."

Ted lined up his shot. "Glad to hear that. I bet that means your grades will be picking up soon."

"My grades?" She moved next to her mom. "How does he know about my grades?"

"I told him. He wants to know all about you. He's concerned, that's a good thing." She saw Ted shoot. "Nice shot, Ted!"

"Thanks, Joycee," he replied. Joyce lined up her shot, and Ted held her arms from behind.

"Steady swing, lead to the right."

They hit it together.

"Perfect," Ted commented.

"Thanks to you," Joyce smiled.

Ted chuckled.

Buffy lined up her shot next.

"Eye on the ball… watch those elbows…" Ted instructed.

Buffy applied a little too much Slayer strength (which might have been an advantage in regular golf), and sent her ball into the bushes.

"Bad luck, little lady," Ted commented.

"We won't count it," Joyce shook her head.

"We won't?" Ted looked at her.

"Well, it's just miniature golf."

Ted got a serious expression on his face.

"It is, but the rules are the rules. What we teach her is what she takes out into the world when we're not there, whether it's at school or an unchaperoned party…"

He smiled at Buffy.

"I don't mean to overstep my bounds, this is between you and your mother. I just think right is right."

Buffy looked at her mother for support.

"He has a point…" Joyce said.

Not what she wanted to hear.

"Yah, I'll just go hit from the rough." She disappeared into the bushes and retrieved her ball. Looking around and not seeing anyone, she dropped the ball near the hole and kicked it in.

"Hey, how 'bout that, I got a hole in two!" she called back over her shoulder.

"Beg to differ," Ted said from right next to her.

Okay, how did he get that close without her noticing? He was like Angel – well, aside from not being a vampire, incredibly hot, or nice to her.

"Okay, so fine my score or whatever…" Buffy tried the "total admission of guilt" method.

"I think you're missing the point here, little lady. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. Why don't people see that?"

"It's just a game."

"Right. It's just a game. Do your own thing. Well I'm not wired that way. I'm here to tell you it is not a game, it does count, and I don't stand for that kind of malarkey in my house."

He was seriously creeping her out.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm not in your house," she retorted.

"Do you want me to slap that smartass mouth of yours?"

Buffy's adrenaline spiked. She gripped the golf club tighter. If he laid a hand on her, she intended to show him the error of his ways.

Joyce, Willow, and Xander came into view. Ted instantly reverted to his friendly self. The rest of the game went fine, but Buffy was permanently wigged out.

She needed to do something about Ted.

* * *

Angel answered the knock at his door, and was greeted with the not unwelcome, if slightly unexpected, sight of his girlfriend.

"Buffy?"

"Angel." Buffy came in, and sat down on the couch. She had a sour expression on her face, and Angel had a guess as to what it was.

"Problems with Ted?"

"We went mini-golfing today. Xander, Willow, Mom, Ted, and me."

"And?"

"Ted threatened to slap my face after I kicked my ball in."

This got Angel's attention.

"I don't get why everyone else likes him so much. He's a total control freak, and Mom's been completely different since he's been around."

"OK, but why did you come by at 3:00 in the morning to talk about it?"

Buffy looked down.

"I had a dream – could be a Slayer vision. I was coming back from patrolling, and Ted was in my room."

"Buffy…" Angel took her in his arms.

"I'm just… I'm worried that he's going to find out about me going out at night – or worse, about the slaying itself."

"Don't worry." Angel kissed her on the cheek. "We'll work it out. You and me. I won't let anything happen to you."

They simply lay there for a while, until Buffy got up suddenly.

"I have an idea."

"What?"

"What if, I told Mom and Ted about us – not the whole 'you're a vampire' part, but about us dating. That way, if Ted ever catches me going out at night, I can always say I was with you."

Angel smiled. "So, I'm your cover story."

She nodded. "I mean, half the time, I'll be telling the truth anyway."

"Only half?"

She smiled back, and kissed him.

* * *

Joyce was humming to herself when Buffy came down the stairs.

"Good morning, sunshine," she greeted Buffy. "I've got juice, I've got sticky buns. Don't they smell good?"

"Hi," Buffy took a bun.

"Ted made them."

Buffy immediately replaced the sticky bun.

"What?" Joyce put her hands on her hips.

"I'd just like to eat something around here that _Ted_ didn't make."

"What kind of an attitude is that?"

"Look, Mom, I know you think he's great and all but –"

Joyce didn't even let her finish the sentence. She was frustrated with how her daughter was acting towards her boyfriend.

"He's gone out of his way to be nice to you, and you couldn't find two words to say to him on Saturday. Now I don't expect you to love him right away like I do, but I do expect you to treat him decently."

Buffy pounced on her mother's choice of words. "You… love him?"

_Oops_. "I don't know, that kind of slipped out… but I guess… it's not exactly like men beat down the door when you're a…"

"…single parent," Buffy finished.

Joyce composed herself before continuing. "I would never have anything to do with anyone who didn't care about you. But he does, I don't understand why you can't see that."

"He threatened me," Buffy deadpanned.

"What?" Ted would never do such a thing.

"He said he was going to slap my face," Buffy explained.

Joyce smiled. "He never said any such thing. Ted told me what happened. He caught you cheating, didn't he?"

Buffy got a guilty expression on her face. "Yes, I kicked my ball in, so put me in jail, but he wigged –"

"And he didn't say anything about it in front of the others, did he?"

"No, but –" Buffy stammered.

"I think that was pretty decent of him."

She began eating pieces of the sticky bun, swallowing before continuing.

"Ted says we're just going to have to give you time to come around. Speaking of which, he's making dinner for us tonight, please be here promptly at six."

Buffy was quiet for a minute. "Mom, there's something I need to tell you."

Uh-oh. "What is it?"

"You remember Angel?"

"Angel…" she tried to remember. "Uh, the college boy who was tutoring you in history?"

"Right. Well, he's… and I'm…"

_Please don't tell me you're pregnant_.

"We've been dating for the past three months."

Phew.

"Oh." Beat. "And, you kept this from me because…"

"Well, I wasn't sure you'd approve. He is older than me."

"Too old, if you ask my opinion," Joyce replied. "Why are you telling me now?"

"Fairness?" Buffy replied. "I walked in on you making out with your boyfriend, it's time I told you about mine."

"Well, can he come to dinner tonight?" Joyce asked. It would be easier to deal with this with Ted there.

"Sure."

* * *

After school, Buffy went over to Angel's.

"Buffy?"

"Hi." She gave him a quick kiss. "OK, here's the sitch. Ted's making dinner tonight, and you're coming."

"Tonight?"

"Well, I told Mom about us this morning, and she's pretty insistent that you come to dinner."

Angel took it in stride. "So, what should I do?"

"First, you need to wear something nice. I'd prefer you make a decent impression on my Mom, and possibly Ted."

Angel opened his closet, and pulled out a red silk shirt.

"Good. Next, we need to work out a cover story for you."

"A cover story?"

"Look. Mom's going to be asking all kinds of questions about you, and most of our answers will have to be lies. For instance, we can't tell her your real age."

"Obviously."

"So, we'll make that up." She hesitated before asking the next question. "How old were you – when you were turned?"

"About 22."

"Great. We'll use that. Next, she'll want to know your full name…"

* * *

Joyce was rather agitated at the moment. She had planned this as a simple dinner with her boyfriend and daughter. Now, _Buffy_ was bringing home _her_ boyfriend, a boy Joyce had only met briefly, and almost a year ago at that.

All Joyce could remember about Angel was that he was a college student, he had tutored Buffy in history, and he was significantly older than Buffy. Admittedly, none of Buffy's previous boyfriends had been much, but at least they were her age.

To make matters worse, Buffy hadn't come home yet. She had called to say that she and Angel would be there at six o'clock. Which meant that the next time Joyce saw her daughter, she would be with her boyfriend.

At 5:59, the door opened. Buffy was there, wearing her favorite leather jacket. Standing next to her was an older boy – or perhaps man was the better word – wearing a red silk shirt and a black jacket on top of that.

He dressed nicely, Joyce had to give him that.


	4. Ted: Act Three

"Hi, Mom," Buffy greeted her mother, relieving Angel of the obligation to make the first statement. In 200 years, he had never been quite this scared before.

"Uh, can I come in, Mrs. Summers?" Angel asked.

"Oh, yes," Joyce replied hesitantly. "May I take your jacket?"

"Thank you," Angel removed his jacket and handed it to Joyce, who placed it on a coat hook near the door.

Angel sized up Joyce and Ted. He had met Joyce briefly before, the night he and Buffy fought the Three. She was wearing a nice red blouse and a frown on her face. He smelled a hint of fear off of her – probably nothing more than extreme anxiety over meeting him. From what Buffy had told him about her, she was a very loving woman.

Ted was different. He was a big man, as tall as Angel, if somewhat wider. He wore a collared shirt and nice pants, probably the same clothes he wore at work. He wasn't afraid, but he did smell… _off_. Angel couldn't place it, but something was wrong about him.

Figuring it out could wait. Right now, Angel needed to make a good impression on Joyce.

"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Summers."

"Ted Buchanan," Ted extended his hand.

"Angel," Angel shook it. They had decided to use as much of Angel's actual life as possible in creating his fake background. The name change was part of it.

"Buffy's told us absolutely nothing about you," Ted joked.

"Well, I hope I can rectify that tonight," Angel replied.

"I think that was the entire point of Angel coming for dinner," Buffy added.

"Well," Joyce said after a significant pause, "dinner's on the table."

* * *

Giles moved slowly through the cemetery, keeping an eye out for any signs of vampire activity.

It was the first time he had actually done this – gone on patrol to cover for Buffy. Buffy had explained the critical importance of her having dinner with her mother tonight, and Giles actually agreed. It would be much easier to keep up appearances if Buffy had a believable excuse for her late night outings and absences from school.

There was the possibility that Joyce might not like Angel and forbid Buffy to date him, but that wouldn't stop Buffy from seeing Angel. She was completely in love with him, and while Angel's vampiric nature and the 224-year age gap gave Giles some pause, he knew that Angel was equally in love with her – that he would, in fact, die for her. Giles wasn't Buffy's father, but for what it was worth, he approved of Angel.

He heard a branch snap behind him. He spun around, holding out a cross to ward off… Jenny.

"I get that reaction from men all the time," Jenny smiled wryly.

"Jenny! What are you doing here?" Giles needed to get her out of here. Hunting vampires was dangerous at best, and without a Slayer present…

"I saw your car back there. I wanted to apologize."

"I don't think this is a good time to –"

"Please, let me get this out," she cut him off. "I was very harsh the other day. I know how bad you feel about putting me in danger…"

Giles spotted a vampire behind her.

"Imagine how I must feel now…"

* * *

They all sat down at the table. Angel and Buffy sat on one side, Joyce and Ted on the other. Angel was quick to start on his chicken – he had assured Buffy that he could eat solid food, it simply didn't do him any good.

After a few bites, Joyce asked the inevitable question:

"So, how did you two meet?"

"At the Bronze," Buffy answered. "We started talking, he mentioned he was a history major, so I asked him if he could help me with my studies."

"You're at UC Sunnydale?" Ted asked.

"Was," Angel corrected. "I graduated last spring." There _was_ the issue that the first time they had met, Buffy had introduced Angel as a freshman at community college, but they were banking on Joyce not remembering. There was also the fact that Ted might be able to find out that he didn't attend any nearby college if he tried.

"Very nice," Joyce seemed to approve of that. "And what do you do now?"

"Tutor kids in history. Sorta like Buffy, only they pay me." Picking Angel's "job" had taken a while. They had settled on professional tutor, since it fit with his "major" – and, more importantly, there was no way Ted could check on it.

"So you're from around here?" Joyce inquired.

"Hardly." Angel smiled. "I was actually born in Galway, Ireland."

"Ireland?" Both Joyce and Ted were surprised by that.

"I moved to New York when I was 10." Actually, Angel had been 140 when he had come to New York. "I'm an American citizen now."

"Well, why come all the way out to Sunnydale for college?" Joyce pressed.

"Long story." And completely made up.

"Well, you'll have to tell us sometime," Joyce smiled. Angel was relieved that he wouldn't have to cover that particular lie tonight.

* * *

The vampire leapt past Giles, knocking him to the ground. He managed to avert a biting with his cross, but the vampire wouldn't let go. Jenny looked around for a weapon.

"My bag!"

Of course. Jenny opened up the bag and pulled out a crossbow. She clumsily tried to load it – fortunately, it had several bolts already attached.

By now, Giles had broken free of the vampire. He pulled out a stake, but the vamp knocked it away. As they fought, Jenny tried to take aim…

* * *

"I have to ask," Ted took over the inquiries, "what kind of a name is 'Angel'? I'm guessing you weren't born with it."

"No," Angel shook his head. "I was born Liam Reilly. Thing is, I never really liked that name. A girl I met once said I had a face like an angel, so I changed my name to Angel."

The truth was a little more complicated. Angel didn't have any real problem with the name Liam Reilly, except that it was given to him by his father. He had also left out the part where he had gone by Angelus for a while, and changed it to Angel after he had gotten his soul.

"Interesting," Ted said.

"I like it," Buffy put in. "And you _do_ have a face like an angel." She took Angel's hand, and they just gazed at each other for about a minute. Angel meant every moment of it, but it was also important to show how much he cared about Buffy. Nothing would win Joyce over more than obvious signs that he cared about Buffy.

That part, he didn't have to lie about at all.

* * *

Giles finally got the vampire turned around so Jenny had a clear line of shot to his back. She fired – just as the vampire pulled Giles around. The bolt buried itself in Giles' side. He doubled over in pain.

Jenny couldn't believe it. She had shot Giles. _She had just shot her boyfriend!_

"Nice shot, lady!" the vampire laughed – a second before Giles pulled the bolt out of his side, and plunged it into the vampire's heart.

* * *

The rest of the dinner went well. The topic of conversation shifted away from Angel and onto Ted.

As everyone finished up, Joyce turned to Buffy.

"Buffy, can you help me clear the table?"

Angel got up quickly. "I'll help you, Mrs. Summers."

Somehow, Joyce wasn't entirely surprised. She smiled at Angel as he collected plates and brought them into the kitchen. Joyce followed. As she began washing, she turned to Angel.

"Angel –"

He cut her off. "You want to know why I'm dating someone Buffy's age."

"Actually, I was going to ask you to pass the soap, but an explanation will do."

He handed over the dishwashing soap, then began explaining.

"I wasn't looking to date someone her age. But after a few tutoring sessions with her, I realized I couldn't stop thinking about her. One night – the night after you and I first met, actually – I started babbling, and I just told her that I wanted to kiss her."

Joyce's eyebrows went up. "And?"

"And then she leaned in, and we kissed."

"Oh."

"I'm in love with your daughter, Mrs. Summers. She's the most important thing in the world to me. And I want you to understand that."

* * *

Jenny rushed to Giles' side.

"Oh, god, I'm so sorry…"

"I think I'm all right," Giles groaned.

"You're just in shock."

"No, really, it didn't go in too deep. The advantages of layers of tweed – better than Kevlar!"

"We've still got to get you to a hospital."

"Yes…"

They got up. As they started walking, Jenny started laughing.

"What is it?" Giles asked.

"Some night, huh? You sure know how to woo a girl back, don't you?"

Giles started laughing too. "Heh heh – oww."

"Hospital."

* * *

"It was very nice meeting you," Ted shook Angel's hand.

"We'll have to do this again sometime," Angel replied.

"Maybe you can come over for Buffy's birthday on Friday?" Joyce suggested.

"Absolutely," Buffy agreed. "Mom, would it be OK if I walked Angel home?"

"Well…" Joyce looked to Ted.

"Oh, it's not far," Buffy assured her mother. "There are some things I want to talk to him about."

Her mother finally relented.

"Be back by 10:00."

* * *

"Well, I think that went pretty well," Buffy said.

"I think the obviously-being-in-love helped my case," Angel replied.

"Then what's up?" Buffy could tell that something was bothering Angel.

"It's Ted."

"What, you don't like him? Join the club."

"No, I mean, I'm not entirely sure that he's human."

"Yeah, well -" the meaning of Angel's words fully sunk in. Buffy turned to face him. "What?"

"I'm not entirely sure that he's human. He didn't smell quite right."

"You think he's a demon?"

"No, I'd have noticed something like that. Maybe he's possessed."

This was not good. If Ted was possessed, then Mom was in danger.

"I'd better get back to the house – I don't want to leave Mom alone with Ted."

"You go on home," Angel said gently. He kissed her quickly, then let go. "I'll call Giles."

"Good night, Angel."

"Good night, Buffy."

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews. However, I'd like more feedback beyond "Loved it!" "Can't wait to see what you do with the series!" "Post more!" and "I love Buffy/Angel!". Discuss the chapter in more detail. Try to predict what's next. Give suggestions. If you do, I'll probably respond!


	5. Ted: Act Four

"So, how did the dinner go?" Willow asked.

"Well, the good news is, I think Mom likes Angel."

"Great!" Willow smiled, excited. She had been cheering Buffy and Angel on for a while. Xander was less enthusiastic, but he had given up on his Buffy crush a while ago.

"The bad news is, Angel isn't sure Ted's human."

"Wait, what?" Xander asked, taken aback by this news.

"He said he didn't smell quite right. I called Giles, but I got no answer."

"That would be because he was in the hospital," Jenny explained as she walked by. She sat down with them.

"Hospital?" Willow asked, worry creeping into her voice.

"Oh, don't worry, he'll be fine. I… accidentally shot him with a crossbow while he was fighting a vampire."

_Mental note: keep Miss Calendar away from crossbows_, Xander thought.

"So, how was your evening?" Jenny asked.

"Angel thinks Ted's evil," Willow deadpanned.

"Really?"

"No, he said Ted didn't smell right," Buffy explained. "He thought Ted might be possessed."

"I see."

Cordelia walked by. Xander called out to her.

"Hey, Cordy. Nice outfit."

She stopped. "Oh, very funny."

Xander was confused. "Not really…"

"What are you saying?"

"Uh, 'nice outfit'?"

"Why don't you just keep your mouth shut?" she snapped before walking off in a huff.

Xander was _very_ confused.

"Will you guys excuse me for a moment?"

He got up and went after Cordelia. As he caught up with her by her locker, she snapped at him again.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I gave you a compliment!" he protested.

"In front of your friends! They're gonna know!"

"They're gonna know what? That we've been making out?"

"Gnegh!" she replied.

"I'm not gonna tell them and they're not gonna know," he assured her. "Not your friends, not my friends. You wanna go in the utility closet and make out?"

"God! Is that all you ever think about?" she replied furiously. She calmed down, then answered, "Okay."

* * *

After lunch, the gang reassembled in the library.

"The first thing we need to do is figure out what kind of demon has possessed Ted," Jenny said. "Buffy, what kind of unusual behavior has Ted displayed?"

"Well, he's a total control freak, for a start," Buffy said.

Jenny wrote "Control Freak" on the blackboard. "And Angel said he didn't smell quite right?"

"Yep."

Jenny wrote that down too.

"Anything else?"

Buffy thought for a while, but couldn't come up with anything else.

"Nothing. I had no idea about this until Angel told me he didn't smell right."

"Maybe you two could check out his house?" Willow suggested.

"Won't Angel need an invitation?" Cordelia pointed out.

"Right." Willow frowned, before brightening again with another idea.

"You could check out where he works."

"Good idea," Jenny said.

"I'll get on the computer."

* * *

After sunset, Buffy met up with Angel. She didn't always go with him, but if Ted was possessed by a demon, she would want backup.

Her first surprise came when the parking lot at Detronics was not empty like she expected. It was, in fact, quite full. And all the lights were on.

"Shouldn't everyone be home by now?" Buffy said.

"Guess not."

Buffy looked at the piece of paper Willow had given her.

"Ted's cubicle is on the second floor. How are we going to get in without being noticed?"

Angel scanned the building. "Service entrance," he pointed.

For whatever reason, the service entrance was unmanned. Buffy tried the handle.

"Locked."

Without missing a beat, she punched a hole in the door. Opening it, she saw a vacant storeroom.

"Come on."

There was a stairwell off to the left. Buffy went first, followed by Angel. Buffy opened the door, and stepped into the hallway.

Buffy looked to her left. Nobody was coming. She looked to her right. One person was coming.

It was Ted.

* * *

Buffy knew she should run. Yet she couldn't move. She stood there, paralyzed with shock as Ted… walked right by?

Seemingly oblivious to her presence, Ted continued down the hallway. He disappeared around the corner, leaving Buffy and Angel very confused.

"OK, something is _definitely_ up," Buffy observed.

"Look on the bright side. At least nobody will recognize us."

The pair began following Ted. As they walked through the office, Buffy noticed something. The place was bare. There were no _Dilbert_ comics taped to office doors, no Joke-A-Day calendars, no _Star Trek_ action figures cluttering desks. Buffy didn't even see any pictures of family members. She stopped to scan a bulletin board. It contained plenty of business-related announcements (including several meetings in the evening) but nothing else.

She also noticed that there wasn't any idle chatter. People weren't talking about their kids, their girlfriends, or TV. Pretty much every conversation she could overhear was business-related. It was like everyone was totally focused on their work.

"Angel, you noticing this? How it's like these people have no lives outside of work?"

"I'm more noticing the fact that _everyone_ here smells like Ted."

She stopped as two employees discussing software brushed past. "What?"

"Well, they're not identical. But the way that Ted smells off, they all smell that way. Whatever's affecting Ted, it's affecting them all."

"An entire company possessed?" That was bad news.

"I doubt it. If they were all possessed, they'd probably be doing something other than working."

"You're right. They're just doing their jobs. Like robots."

Angel stiffened. "Maybe they are robots."

"Mom dating a robot." Buffy shuddered at the thought. "Well, if they are robots, there's probably a control device somewhere around here."

"Where?"

"The boss's office?"

"Good idea. I think Ted said his name was John Sagan?"

As they headed to Sagan's office, they passed by the kitchen. Inside, Buffy saw a man filling the coffee pot. He was bald and gave off a massive creep vibe.

And unlike everyone else, he noticed Buffy and Angel.

"Who are you?" he asked.

* * *

"I could ask you the same question," Angel replied.

"I'm John Sagan, manager of the Sunnydale branch of Detronics Enterprises."

"What are you doing with the coffee?" Buffy asked.

"Something pretty clever," he smiled. "It's doped with Nah'met blood. Makes them easy to control without reducing their intelligence."

"And you've used this to… turn your employees into workaholics?"

"Yep. Productivity's up by 30%. The Sunnydale branch of Detronics is the most profitable one in the country. I figure I'll be promoted shortly for raking in so much money."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Buffy growled.

"What are you going to do about it?" Sagan demanded. "You're not employees, so you're not supposed to be here. I control the security guards. I could have you killed, and nobody would ever know."

"They might find that a problem." Angel shifted to vamp face. Sagan's eyes went wide with terror.

"Now, if you want to survive, you'll do exactly what I tell you."

* * *

"So, how did they find out about the coffee being doped?" Joyce asked.

"Sagan left a signed confession on his desk. It must have happened last night while I was at work," Ted explained. "The police still aren't sure what he was putting in there."

"But there's no sign of what happened?"

"Nothing. The security tapes from the night were missing. The last anyone saw of John Sagan, he was driving out of the parking lot."

Buffy hid a smile. Sagan had confessed to everything before taking off. He had also arranged for the security tapes to be destroyed. Evidently, nobody remembered seeing Buffy or Angel there.

"Anyway, the company's giving us all two weeks off to let the stuff wear off." He leaned back, a smile creeping across his face. "Oh, and when we get back to work, I'll be taking over."

"Ted, that's wonderful!" Joyce planted a kiss right on his lips.

"Which is why, tonight, you and I are going out. I have a reservation for two at this wonderful restaurant."

"What about Buffy? She'll be all alone."

"Oh, you two go on alone," Buffy encouraged. "I'll find something to do."

No sooner had Joyce and Ted left, Buffy was out of the door. Arriving at Angel's apartment, she knocked twice on the door.

Angel answered.

"Hi."

* * *

Supporting Cast:

Željko Ivanek as John Sagan

Robia LaMorte as Jenny Calendar

John Ritter as Ted Buchanan

Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers

* * *

A/N: Plot twist: Ted's human! Bet you didn't see that coming!

I need to clarify something here. While I will use background material revealed later on the show, I will also alter that material as I see fit. For instance, Ted is human here, while he was a robot on the show. I've also pinned down Angel's age when he was turned as 22, when there is some evidence that he may have been older. Anything prior to "Ted" is canon. _Nothing else is_.

I do not intend to turn this series into a fluffy happy Buffy/Angel fic. There will be death, carnage, and suffering. I only promise a few things. I won't break up Buffy and Angel, for a start. And while there won't be an _Angel_ spinoff, I don't plan to just kill Cordelia or Wesley off. I have big plans for Cordelia.

Also, I will be listing secondary actors at the end of each episode. These would be the actors whose names would have appeared onscreen during Act One. Due to my particular viewing preferences, the majority of actors who didn't actually appear on _Buffy_ or _Angel_ will have appeared on _Firefly_, _Dollhouse_, or _Heroes_.

Next episode: Buffy's life is about to change forever, as a new enemy shows its face.


	6. Surprise: Teaser

Teaser:

Buffy woke from a restless sleep. Reaching for a glass of water, she found it empty. She climbed out of bed, and walked down the hallway, still half-asleep. She opened the bathroom door, and walked into the Bronze.

Otherwordly music was playing. Buffy saw Willow sitting at a table with a monkey.

"_L'hippo à piqué ses pantalons,"_ Willow said.

Buffy turned and saw her mother, drinking out of a cup and saucer.

"Do you think you're ready, Buffy?" she asked.

"What?"

Joyce dropped the saucer. It shattered as it hit the floor. Buffy looked back up at her mother, only to see that she was gone.

The dance floor was alive with sexual energy. Between the writhing couples, Buffy spotted Angel. He smiled as their eyes met. They slowly walked towards each other, oblivious to their surroundings.

Just as they were about to reach each other, Ted struck without warning from behind Angel, driving a stake into his heart.

"Buffy…" Angel crumbled into dust inches away from Buffy. She looked up at Ted. Flanking him were Spike and Drusilla, fully alive.

"Happy birthday, Buffy," Drusilla said.

"Hope you like your present," Spike added.

* * *

Buffy woke up.

* * *

End Teaser

Credits:

Sarah Michelle Gellar  
Nicholas Brendon  
Alyson Hannigan  
David Boreanaz  
Charisma Carpenter  
And Anthony Stewart Head as Giles

Created by Joss Whedon


	7. Surprise: Act One

"Angel?" came Buffy's voice from the other side of the door.

"Hold on!" he called back.

Angel pulled himself out of bed. He opened the door to see a rather distraught Buffy standing there.

"Hey… everything okay?" he asked.

"That was what I was going to ask you. You're okay, right?"

"Sure. I'm fine." Angel stepped out of the way so Buffy could enter. "What's up?" He grabbed a shirt and put it on.

"I had a dream that Spike and Drusilla were alive… and that Ted killed you. Right in front of me."

Angel stroked Buffy's face, trying to soothe her. "It was just a dream. It wasn't real."

"But it felt so real," Buffy's voice quavered.

"It wasn't," he reassured. "I'm right here."

Buffy moved away from him.

"This happened before, Angel. That dream I had about the Master, it came true."

"Still, not every dream you have comes true. I mean, what else did you dream last night? Can you remember?"

Buffy thought before answering: "That… Giles and I opened an office supply warehouse in Vegas."

Angel chuckled at the thought. Giles in retail? Maybe a bookstore…

"You see my point?"

"Yeah. But, I mean, what if Drusilla and Spike are alive? We never saw their bodies."

"They're not." Resolute. "But even if they were, we'd deal."

"But what if she's –"

Angel drew Buffy back into his arms and kissed her. She relaxed, and the kiss got intense. Finally…

"What if what?" he asked her.

"I'm sorry. Were we talking?"

They resumed kissing. Eventually, Buffy broke it off.

"I have to go to school."

"Right."

And they kissed some more. Buffy took a hold of Angel.

"God, you feel –"

"You have to go to school."

Still kissing, Angel moved her to the door. They continued kissing against the door before Buffy pulled back.

"Alright, this is me. I'm going."

They kissed one more time.

"You still haven't told me what you want for your birthday," Angel said under his breath.

Buffy smiled. "Surprise me."

"Okay. I will."

Neither said anything, not wanting to end the moment.

"This was nice," Buffy broke the non-awkward silence. "I like you first thing in the morning."

"It's bedtime for me," Angel shrugged.

"Then I like seeing you at bedtime."

Buffy realized how that sounded. "I mean… you – you know what I mean."

"I think so," Angel nodded, stopped, then asked: "What do you mean?"

"That I… I like seeing you. And the part at the end of the night when we say goodbye, its… getting harder."

"Yeah, it is," Angel replied.

* * *

"'I like you at bedtime?' You actually said that?" Willow asked, surprised.

Buffy had just filled her in on her encounter with Angel. One thing for sure – Buffy never skimped on details. At least not with Willow.

"Totally unplanned. It just came out," Buffy explained.

"And he was into it? He wants to see you at bedtime, too?"

Buffy stopped walking.

"Yeah. I think he does. I mean, he's cool about it –"

"Of course he is. Cause' he's cool. He would never, you know…"

"Push," Buffy filled in.

"Right. He's not the type."

Buffy and Willow sat down on a bench.

"Willow, what am I going to do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Well… _want_ isn't always the right thing… to do, I mean. To act on want can be wrong."

"True."

"But, to not act on want… you could watch your whole life pass you by."

Willow smiled. "Carpe diem. You told me that once."

"Fish of the day?" Buffy furrowed her brow.

"Not carp. Carpe! It means seize the day."

"Oh. Right." Buffy waited a minute before continuing.

"I think we're going to… seize it, Will. Sooner or later. Once you get to a certain point – seizing is sort of inevitable."

The meaning of this sunk in.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Wow."

They continued walking, while Willow tried to imagine Buffy and Angel actually making love. It would definitely be "making love" – Buffy and Angel couldn't simply have sex.

"Ooh, speaking of wow potential, there's Oz," Buffy pointed out. "What are we thinking? Any sparkage?"

Willow glowed. "He's nice. I like his hands."

"Ah. Fixation on insignificant detail is a definite crush sign," Buffy stated.

"I don't know, though. I mean, he is a senior…"

"You think he's too old because he's a senior? Please. My boyfriend had a bicentennial," Buffy scoffed.

"That's true, I guess… I just…"

"You can't spend the rest of your life waiting for Xander to wake up and smell the hottie. Make a move. Do the talking thing."

"What if the talking thing becomes the awkward silence thing?"

"You won't know unless you try."

Smiling, Buffy walked away, leaving Willow alone. Willow gathered her courage as she came over to Oz. Fortunately, he seemed pleased to see her, in his Ozian way.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey."

"Do you have a… a gig tonight?"

"Practice. The band's kind of moving towards this new sound where we suck. So, practice."

"I think you guys sound good," she replied. It might be the fact that Willow rarely paid attention to the other members of the band, but she honestly thought they were good. "I bet you've got a lot of groupies."

"It happens," he shrugged. "But I'm living groupie free nowadays. I'm clean."

"Oh."

Then Oz said about the last thing Willow expected to hear.

"I'm gonna ask you if you wanna go out tomorrow night. I'm actually kinda nervous about it. It's interesting."

"Oh. Well, if it helps at all, I'm gonna say yes."

"That helps. It adds a comfort zone. You wanna go out tomorrow night?"

Suddenly, Willow remembered that tomorrow night was Buffy's party.

"Oh! I can't!"

"I like that you're unpredictable," he replied.

"Well, it's Buffy's birthday and we're throwing her a surprise party."

"That's okay."

An idea came to her head. "But you could come. If you wanted."

"Don't wanna crash…"

"No, that's fine. You could be my… date."

"All right. I'm in."

Willow walked away, a shy smile on her face.

She said "date"!

* * *

Xander hung around next to Cordelia at her locker, trying to look like he wasn't hanging around.

"So, Buffy's party. Mañana."

"Right. Just because she's 'miss save the world' we have to make a big deal. I have to cook and everything."

Cook? Since when did Cordelia cook?

"You're cooking?"

"I'm chips-and-dips girl."

"Horrors. All that opening and stirring."

"And shopping. And carrying."

"You should have a person who does such things for you," Xander suggested.

"That's what I've been saying to my father. But does he listen?"

Xander leaned in.

"So, you're going. I'm going. Should we – you know – go?"

"Why?"

"I don't know…" Xander shrugged. "This thing. With us? Despite our better judgment, it keeps happening. Maybe we should just admit that we're dating."

"Groping in a broom closet is not dating. You don't call it a date until the guy spends money."

"Fine. I'll spend, then we'll grope. Whatever. It's just some kind of whacked that we feel we have to hide from all our friends."

"Well, of course you want to tell everybody. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I, on the other hand, have everything to be ashamed of."

Xander gave up.

"Know what? 'Nuff said. Forget it. Must have been my multiple personality guy talking. I call him Idiot Jed, Glutton for Punishment ."

Xander walked away, coming over to the student lounge where Giles was.

"Oh, good morning," Giles greeted him. He lowered his voice: "Is everything ready for the party?"

"Absolutely," Xander nodded. "You ready to get down, you funky party weasel?"

Giles looked at the stairs, where Buffy and Jenny were coming down.

"Here comes Buffy. Now remember: discretion is the better part of valor."

"You coulda just said, 'shh!' God, are all you Brits such drama queens?" To Buffy: "Buffy, I feel a pre-birthday spanking coming on."

"I'd curb that impulse if I were you, Xander," Jenny suggested as she sat down with Buffy at a table.

"Check, cancel spanking," Xander said into his shirt as if there was a microphone there.

Giles sat down with Buffy and Jenny. "You alright, Buffy? You seem a little fatigued."

"Rough night," Buffy replied. "I had a dream that Drusilla and Spike were alive – and that Ted killed Angel. I-it just really freaked me out."

"You fear it was more of a, a… a portent?"

"See, I don't know. I don't wanna start a big freakout over nothing."

"Still, best to be, uh, on the alert. If Spike and Drusilla are alive, it could be a fairly cataclysmic state of affairs."

"Again, so many words!" Xander said. "Couldn't you just say, 'we'd be in trouble'?"

Giles gave Xander a look. "Go to class, Xander."

"Gone." Xander started away, but stopped. "Notice the economy of phrasing: 'gone.' Simple. Direct." He pointed at Giles and left.

Buffy stood up. "Maybe I should get 'gone', too."

"Uh, don't worry unduly, Buffy. I'm sure it's nothing," Giles assured her.

"I know, I should keep my Slayer cool, but… it's Angel, which automatically equals maxi-wig."

* * *

Dalton entered the main room of the factory, carrying a large wooden box.

"I have your package."

"Just put it on the table near the other gifts," Spike instructed.

As Dalton placed the box on the table, Spike and Dru walked through the main room of the factory.

"Are you dead set on this, pet? Wouldn't you rather have your party in Vienna?"

"But the invitations are sent."

"Yeah. It's just I've had it with this place. Nothing ever comes off like it's supposed to."

Drusilla put her hands on his chest. "My gatherings are always perfect. Remember Spain? The bulls?" She walked her fingers along his chest and around his neck.

"I remember sweet," Spike took her hand. "But Sunnydale's cursed for us. Angel and the Slayer see to that."

"Shh…" she spoke into his ear and licked his cheek. "I've got good games for everyone. You'll see."

She wandered over to the table, inspecting the roses and flowers that were woven into the high backed-chairs.

"These flowers… are wrong. They're all wrong!" she moaned. "I can't abide them!" she screamed as she ripped them apart.

Spike took her in his arms and slowly rocked her. "Let's try something different with the flowers then."

She calmed down and kissed him passionately. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the boxes on the table. She broke the kiss and walked over to them.

"Can I open one? Can I?"

They exchanged a smile.

"Just a peek, love," Spike allowed. Drusilla reached for the latch on one of them and opened it.

"Do you like it, baby?" Spike asked.

"It reeks of death," she sighed and kneeled in front of Spike. "This will be the best party ever."

"Why is that?"

"Because…"

She looked back into the box.

"Because it will be the last."


	8. Surprise: Act Two

Buffy awoke to the smell of something cooking. After dressing and coming downstairs, she found Ted in the kitchen, flipping pancakes and talking with her mother.

"Morning, birthday girl!" Ted greeted her with a smile. Though Buffy still didn't like Ted, the pancakes were going a long way towards changing that.

"Ooh, pancakes!" Buffy sat down at the island.

"So, does seventeen feel any different from sixteen?" Joyce asked.

"It's funny you should ask that," Buffy replied. Joyce raised an eyebrow. "I woke up feeling more mature, responsible, and levelheaded."

"Really? It's uncanny," Joyce said.

"I now possess the qualities one looks for in a… licensed driver," Buffy looked at her mom hopefully.

Ted vanished.

"Buffy…"

"You said we could talk about it again when I was seventeen."

"Do you really think you're ready, Buffy?"

Joyce dropped the plate she was holding. Buffy watched it fall and shatter on the floor.

* * *

"…and then my mom broke the plate. It was just like my dream. Every word, every gesture," Buffy told Giles.

"Yes, well, I-I-I'd imagine it would be… fairly unnerving," he stammered.

Willow and Xander came bounding up.

"Hey, it's the woman of the hour!" Xander announced.

"It's Happy Birthday Buffy!" Willow bounced, embracing her friend in a hug. She saw Buffy's lack of a reaction. "Not Happy Birthday Buffy?"

"It's just that, um, part of the nightmare that Buffy had the other night actually transpired," Giles explained.

"Which means Spike and Drusilla might still be alive," Buffy said.

"Even if they are alive, we can still protect Angel," Giles assured. "Dreams aren't prophecies, Buffy. You dreamt that the Master had risen, but you stopped it from happening."

"You ground his bones to make your bread," Xander added.

"That's true. Except for the bread part," Buffy sighed. "OK, so, fine. We're one step ahead, but I wanna stay that way."

"Absolutely." Giles stood up. "Let me read up on Drusilla, uh, see if she has any particular patterns." He started towards his office. "Why don't you meet me here at seven? We'll map out a strategy."

"What am I supposed to do until then?" Buffy asked.

Giles shrugged. "Go to class, do your homework, have supper…"

"Right. Be _that_ Buffy." She picked up her bag and walked away.

"Well, that's not a perky birthday puppy," Xander pouted.

"So much for our surprise party," Willow sighed. "I bought little hats and everything. Oh, well. I guess I'll tell Cordelia." She started to leave.

"No you won't," Giles said. "We're having a party tonight."

Xander stared at Giles. "Looks like Mr. Caution Man, but the sound he makes is funny."

Willow nodded in agreement.

"Buffy's surprise party will go ahead as we planned," Giles said. "Except I won't be wearing a little hat."

Willow got confused. "But Buffy and Angel…"

"May well be in danger. As they have been before, and, I imagine, will be again." Giles sipped his tea. "One thing I've learned in my tenure here on the Hellmouth is that there is no good time to relax. And Buffy's turning 17 just this once, and she deserves a party."

"You're a great man of our time," Xander affirmed.

Willow smiled. "And anyway, Angel's coming. So she'll be able to protect him _and_ have cake."

"Precisely."

* * *

"Jenny Calendar," came an accented voice from behind.

Jenny spun around, startled to see her uncle Enyos standing in the doorway of her classroom. He was wearing a dark suit and a wide-brimmed hat.

"You startled me," she said.

"You look well." He stepped up to her desk.

"Yes, I'm fine. I know I haven't written as much lately. I've been busy."

"I cannot imagine what is so important to make you ignore the responsibility to your people.

A pang of guilt. "Well, I've been working and –"

He interrupted her. "The elder woman has been reading signs. Something is different."

"Nothing has changed," Jenny replied firmly. "The curse still holds."

"The elder woman is _never_ wrong! She says his pain is lessening. She can feel it."

_Buffy_. Jenny looked down in guilt. "There is…"

"There is what?"

"A girl…"

Enyos exhaled in disgust. "What? How could you let this happen?"

"I promise you. Angel still suffers. And he makes amends for his evil. He even saved my life!"

Enyos exploded. "So you just forget that he destroyed the most beloved daughter of your tribe?! That he _killed_ every man, woman, and child that touched her life?! Vengeance demands that his pain be _eternal_ as ours is! If this girl gives him one _minute_ of happiness, it is one minute too much!"

Jenny tried to explain. "I'm sorry. I thought…"

Enyos didn't give her a chance. "You thought what?! You thought you are Jenny Calendar now?! You are still Janna, of the Kalderash people! A Gypsy."

"I know… Uncle. I know."

"Then prove it. Your time for watching is past. The girl and him, it ends now! Do what you must to take her from him!"

"I will see to it," Jenny promised.

"Good!" Enyos stormed out without another word.

Then it hit Jenny. She had to break up Buffy and Angel.

Hacking the NSA would have been easier.

* * *

While Jenny was racking her brain for ways to break up Buffy and Angel short of killing one or the other, she had another role to play – in the surprise party for Buffy. Jenny caught up with her after school.

"Oh, I didn't see you there," Buffy said.

"Sorry. Um, Giles wanted me to tell you that there's been a change of plans. Uh, he wants to meet you someplace near his house… 'cause he had to run home and get a book or something."

"'Cause heaven knows there aren't enough books in the library."

"Uh, he's… very thorough," Jenny tried to cover. Fortunately, Buffy didn't seem to suspect anything.

"Oh, which is not to bag. It's kind of manly in an obsessive-compulsive kind of way, don't you think?"

"Mm-hm," Jenny agreed. "You know, my car's here. Why don't I drive you?"

"Okay."

* * *

The car turned into an alley near the Bronze.

"Are we goin' to the Bronze," Buffy asked.

"I'm not sure. Giles gave me an address, I'm just following his directions."

As they rounded a corner, Buffy noticed something up ahead. A truck was parked in a loading area and people were loading something. Something didn't feel right.

"This looks funky. Stop for a sec."

"No, Buffy, maybe you shouldn't."

"Sorry. Sacred duty, yada yada yada."

Buffy got out of the car and went to investigate.

Sure enough, it was vampires. Buffy recognized one of them as the vampire with glasses who had been raiding DuLac's crypt.

"Every time I see you, you're stealing something," she quipped. "You really should speak with someone about this klepto issue."

A big vamp attacked Buffy. She kicked him away just in time to hear the truck start. Another vamp was in the driver's seat, while Klepto Glasses was trying to close the cargo gate.

Buffy tore open the door and staked the driver before he could react. She swung around to the back. Klepto Glasses dropped the box and took off.

_Smart move_.

Before Buffy could catch her breath, the big vamp tackled her from behind. Buffy threw him off of her and turned to face him.

* * *

Angel peeked out from behind a column. "Where is she?"

"Shh!" Willow hushed him from behind the pool table where she was hiding along with Oz, Giles, Xander, and Cordelia. "I think I hear her coming!"

Oz had done this sort of thing plenty of times before. The Dingoes had thrown a surprise party for Devon for his birthday last September. Of course, it all depended on bringing the victim to the location. All Oz knew was that Ms. Calendar was handling that part of the plan.

He heard a bang from the wall, like something had slammed into the Bronze. Before he could guess at what it was, he saw Buffy smash through the blacked-out window. She was followed by a very large man, who had presumably thrown her and was now trying to jump on top of her. Buffy threw him off in a move that no person that small should be capable of. She leapt to her feet and grabbed a _drumstick_ from a nearby drum set. When the man charged her, she drove it straight into his heart.

At that point, he exploded into dust.

* * *

By now, everyone had left their hiding places, and was staring at Buffy.

"Surprise!" Cordelia yelled as she popped out from behind the pool table.

Correction. Now everyone had left their hiding places, and was staring at Cordelia.

"That pretty much sums it up," Oz replied.

"Are you okay?" Angel asked Buffy.

"Yes, what happened?" Giles inquired.

"There were these vamps in the alley. And one of Spike's guys was –"

She noticed the decorations.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, um… surprise party." Giles blew on his party favor.

"You guys did all this for me?" Buffy smiled. "That is so sweet!"

"You're sure you're okay?" Angel asked again.

"Yes, I'm fine," she assured him.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked Oz.

"Yeah," he replied. Finally, he lost his composure. "Hey, did everybody see that guy just turn to dust?"

"Uh, well… sort of," Willow mumbled.

"Yep," Xander sighed. "Vampires are real. A lot of them live in Sunnydale. Willow will fill you in." He walked off.

"I know it's hard to accept at first," Willow began.

"Actually, it explains a _lot_," Oz replied. Why so many people died from neck wounds in Sunnydale, among other things. He also surmised that he was the only person in the room who did not know about vampires.

_I wonder if other monsters are real. Like werewolves? Man, I hope not. It would suck to be a werewolf._

Ms. Calendar entered the room carrying a large box.

"Hey, can someone give me a hand here?"

Angel and Giles took it from her, and set it on the table.

"Those creeps left it behind," she explained.

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"I have no idea," Giles said. "Can it be opened?"

"Yeah. This looks like a release right here."

Buffy worked the latch and opened the box. She peered in, a look of disgust on her face.

An arm, clad in armor, leapt out of the box, grabbed Buffy by the throat, and started choking her.


	9. Surprise: Act Three

A/N: Joss owns everything, praised be his name, etc.

* * *

Buffy struggled with the arm clutching her throat. Angel took hold of it, wrenched it off of her neck, and stuffed it back in the box. Giles slammed the lid shut while Buffy tried to catch her breath.

"Well, clearly the Hellmouth's answer to 'what do you get the Slayer who has everything?'. What the hell was that?" Xander said.

"Good heavens," Giles came over to Buffy and Angel. "Buffy, are you alright?"

"Man, that thing had major grip," Buffy coughed.

"W-what was that?" Willow asked, trembling.

"It looked like an arm," Oz offered. The boy was reacting much better than most did in these circumstances.

"It can't be. They wouldn't," Angel said. For the first time since they had met, Giles could see that Angel was scared. Not even the prophecy of Buffy's death had affected him this way.

"What, uh, vamp's version of 'snakes in a can', or do you care to share?" Xander asked.

"Angel?" Buffy asked, her voice still weak.

"It-it's a legend," Angel explained, "a few centuries before my time… of a demon brought forth to rid the Earth of the plague of humanity… to separate the righteous from the wicked, and to burn the righteous down. They call him the Judge."

"The Judge? This is he?" Giles inquired. If this was the Judge Giles had read about, then Angel had good reason to be scared.

"Not all of him," Angel shook his head.

Buffy raised her hand. "Um, still needing backstory here."

"Um…" Giles tried to recall, "He, he couldn't be killed, yes?" He looked to Angel for guidance. "Um, a-an army was sent against him. Most of them died… but, uh, finally they were able to dismember him, but… not kill him."

"The pieces were scattered," Angel continued, "buried in every corner of the Earth."

"You seem to know more than I do," Giles admitted.

"Darla," Angel replied. "She brought him forth the first time. Well – she, she and the Master. She told me about it."

"So all these parts are being brought here," Jenny said.

"By Spike and Drusilla," Buffy figured. "The vamps outside were Spike's men."

"Darla told them about it too, and Dru's just crazy enough to do it," Angel said.

"Do what, reassemble the Judge?" Cordelia asked.

"And bring forth Armageddon," Angel confirmed.

"So that would be not-good," she replied.

"We need to get this out of town," Giles concluded.

"Angel," Jenny declared.

"What?" Buffy said.

Jenny addressed Angel. "You have to do it. You're the only one that can protect this thing."

"What about me?" Buffy asked.

"What, you're just gonna skip town for a few months?"

"Months?"

"She's right," Angel started pacing. "I gotta get this to the remotest region possible."

"But that's not months!" Buffy protested.

"I can catch a cargo ship to Asia," Angel continued, "maybe trek to Nepal, or just drop it in the Pacific…"

"You know, those newfangled flying machines really are much safer than they used to be," Buffy said.

"I can't fly. There's no sure way to guard against the daylight!" Angel took Buffy's hands in his. "I-I-I don't like this any more than you do, Buffy. But there's no other choice."

"When?" she asked, her voice breaking.

"Tonight. As soon as possible."

"But it's my birthday."

"I'll drive you to the docks," Jenny offered.

* * *

"You lost it?" Drusilla glared right at Dalton. She wasn't nearly as violent as Spike, but somehow, she was even more terrifying, especially since she had been restored to health. Dalton sometimes regretted helping Spike with that.

"You… lost… my… present!"

"I know," Dalton admitted. "I'm sorry."

"It was a bad turn, man," Spike said. "She can't have her fun without the box."

"The Slayer," Dalton tried to offer. "She came out of nowhere. I didn't even see her. She -"

Drusilla put a finger to his lips. She stared at him and removed his glasses. She dropped them to the floor and crushed them under her shoe. She then lifted her head with her eyes closed.

"Make a wish," she intoned.

"What?"

She held two fingers up to his eyes. "I'm going to blow out the candles."

_Ohshitohshitohshitohshit…_

"You might give him a chance to find your lost treasure," Spike suggested. "He is a wanker, but he's the only one we've got with half a brain. If he fails, you can eat his eyes out of his sockets for all I care."

"I'll get it. Please. I swear," Dalton pleaded, meaning every word.

Drusilla thrust both her hands at him and pulled them back, clenching them into fists. She smiled evilly, then bent down and picked up his glasses.

"Okay," she unfolded them and set them back on his nose. "Hurry back then."

She patted him on the head. Which would have been strange for any other vampire, but with Drusilla, it was fairly normal.

_At least she isn't eating my eyes_.

* * *

Buffy and Angel walked toward the ship. Angel held the box on his shoulder with his right arm, and Buffy's arm with his left. Buffy leaned into him, and he kissed her on the head.

How would she deal with this? How could she go on not knowing where Angel was, how he was? Buffy wanted to go with him. She didn't care if she got expelled. In truth, the only thing keeping her here was the Hellmouth.

They reached the gangplank, and Angel set the box down. They both stepped away from the box.

"I should go the rest of the way alone," Angel said. "But I'll be back. I will."

"When?" Buffy asked him, pleading. "Six months? A year? You don't know how long it's gonna take or if we'll even…" she looked down.

"Hey," Angel raised her chin. "If we'll even what?"

Tears welled in Buffy's eyes. "Well, if you haven't noticed, someone pretty much always wants us dead."

"Don't say that," Angel chided. "We'll be fine."

"We don't know that."

"We can't know, Buffy. Nobody can. That's just the deal."

He reached into his pocket. "I have something for you. For your birthday. I… I was gonna give it to you earlier, but…"

He showed her a silver ring. The design was of two hands clasping a crowned heart.

"It's beautiful," she said.

"It's a claddagh ring," Angel explained. "My people – before I was changed – they exchanged this as a sign of devotion. The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty, and the heart… well, you know. If you wear it," he slipped it onto the ring finger on her right hand, "with the heart pointing towards you, it means you belong to somebody. Like this."

He showed her an identical ring on his own hand. Buffy leaned over and kissed it.

"I don't wanna do this," she sobbed.

"Me either."

"So don't go."

They kissed, and Buffy put her arms around him. They kissed some more.

"Buffy… I…" Angel started to say something, but was interrupted by two vamps jumping at them from some netting. One pulled Buffy off of Angel and threw her back, while the other began fighting Angel. Buffy rolled to her feet, grabbed the vampire near her, and started pummeling him. While they were fighting, Klepto Glasses dropped out of the netting, and grabbed the box.

"Angel! The box!" she shouted.

Angel flipped his opponent onto his back, staked him, and took off after Klepto Glasses, tackling him. Buffy continued fighting, ducking a roundhouse kick. However, the vamp was able to grab a hold of her jacket, and fling her into the water.

When Angel pulled her out, the box was gone.

* * *

Xander yawned. Willow sighed. Giles looked up from his books.

"They should be back by now," he said.

"Maybe Buffy needed a few minutes to pull herself together," Willow suggested. "Poor Buffy, on her birthday and everything."

"You have no idea," came Buffy's reply from the doorway.

"Buffy!" Willow said.

"What happened?" Giles asked. "Where's Jenny?"

"Spike's guys ambushed us," Buffy said. "They got the box. Jenny took Angel to get clothing. I, I had some here."

"And we needed clothes because…" Xander asked.

"We got wet. Giles, what do we know?"

Giles shook his head. "The more I study the Judge, the less I like him. His touch can literally burn the humanity out of you. A true creature of evil can survive the process. No human ever has."

"What's the problem?" Xander asked. "We send Snyder to fight this guy, and we order pizza."

Everyone smiled for a moment. Buffy turned back to Giles.

"Can this guy be stopped? Without an army?"

"Um," Giles read from the book he was holding, "'no weapon forged can kill him.' Not very encouraging. If we could only stop them from assembling him."

"We need to find his weak spots, and we need to figure out where they'd be keeping him."

"Better do a round robin," Willow said. "Xander, you go first."

"Good call," Buffy agreed.

Xander headed for the phone.

"Round robin?" Giles inquired.

"It's when everybody calls everybody's mom and tells them they're staying at everyone else's house," Willow explained.

"Thus freeing us up for world saveage," Buffy said.

"And all-night keggers!" Willow added. On Buffy and Giles' looks: "What, only Xander gets to make dumb jokes?"

* * *

"I think I read this already," Xander pushed his book away.

"I can't get over how cool Oz was about all this," Willow smiled.

"Gee, I'm over it," Xander said.

"You're just jealous 'cause you didn't have a date for the party," Willow replied smugly.

"No, I sure didn't," Xander went back to reading.

Giles came into the main room. "Angel? Any luck?"

Angel came out of the stacks. As he approached Giles' office, Giles held up his hand.

"Sh-sh-sh," he hushed Angel. Angel followed Giles' gaze into the office, where Buffy was asleep with her head on the desk. Giles waved Angel to follow him.

"Seems Buffy needed some rest," Giles whispered.

"Yeah," Angel said. "She hasn't been sleeping well. Tossing and turning." Everyone looked at him. "She told me. Because of her dreams?"

* * *

Buffy wandered around a warehouse. It had been decorated for a party, with candles that were burning low. On the other side of the table, she saw Jenny walking the other way. She was about to address her when she was distracted by several boxes, including the one that had held the Judge's arm.

"Now, now," Drusilla said. Buffy whirled around to see her on the upper level holding Angel in front of her. Spike stood behind her.

"Hands off my presents," she said, pressing a sharp blade to Angel's neck.

"You have to make a choice, Buffy," came the voice of her mother. Buffy saw her standing in the doorway of their house, holding a kitchen knife to Willow's neck. Ted stood behind her.

"No!" she cried out.

"Buffy!" Angel came over.

"Angel!" Buffy realized that it had been a nightmare, and she was awake now. She was back in the library.

"Buffy, it's okay. I'm here." She hugged him close. "I'm right here."

* * *

Drusilla stood at the top of the staircase and clapped her hands.

"More music!" she commanded. She bobbed her head to the gothic beat as she descended the steps. Making her way to the head of the table, she began to dance.

Spike came over, holding the final box.

"Look what I have for you, ducks," he said.

Dru smiled and stepped over to him.

"Ahh… the best is saved for last."

She handed the box to two vampires. They took it to where the other boxes were being assembled into a humanoid shape. They raised it, setting the head into place.

Once in place, a bright light emanated through the cracks. The boxes fused and opened, allowing a figure to step out. He had blue skin, small horns, and wore armor.

He was the Judge.

"He's perfect, my darling," she cooed. "Just what I wanted."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the wait!


	10. Surprise: Act Four

The Judge stepped out of the box. An aura of menace surrounded him.

"You…" he pointed at Drusilla.

"What's that, mate?" Spike leapt to Dru's defense.

"You two stink of humanity," the Judge declared. "You share affection and jealousy."

Spike vamped out. "Yeah, what of it?" He tapped the Judge on his armored chest. "Do I have to remind you that we're the ones who brought you here?"

The Judge seemed to consider this for a moment. "You may live. You will help me serve my purpose," he said.

"Works for me," Spike replied, smiling.

Drusilla seemed to be keeping her cool. "Would you like a party favor?" she gestured to the other vamps._ Good idea, Dru. That ought to satisfy him for now._

The Judge gazed at the vampires. His eyes settled on Dalton.

"This one is full of feeling. He reads. Bring him to me."

Michelle and Zach grabbed Dalton by his arms and carried him over to the Judge, ignoring his protests.

"What's with the bringing, mate? I thought you could just… zap people?" Spike asked.

"My full strength will return in time. Until then," the Judge grinned at Dalton, "I need contact."

The Judge placed his hand on Dalton's chest, which began to smoke. Dalton quickly combusted, leaving nothing behind.

"Do it again! Do it again! Do it again!" Dru cheered.

* * *

Buffy came striding out of Giles' office, with Angel right behind her.

"Buffy, what's happening?" Giles asked.

"She had another dream," Angel explained.

"I think I know where Spike and Drusilla are," Buffy said.

"That's very good," Giles came down the stairs, "however, you, you do need a plan. I-I know you're concerned, Buffy, but you can't just go off half-cocked."

"I have a plan" she said. "Angel and I go to the factory and do recon, figure out how far they've gotten assembling the Judge. You guys check any places the boxes could be coming into town. Shipping yards, airports, anything. We need to stop them from getting all the boxes in one place."

"Yes," Giles stepped back, "yes, well, um, actually, that's quite a good plan."

"This thing is nasty, and it's real, Giles. We can't wait for it to come get us."

"Right."

* * *

Buffy and Angel crept along the upper level of the warehouse. They looked down at the party going on below, and walked to the railing.

"I saw this," she whispered to Angel. "The party." She left out the part about her mother. That she couldn't explain.

They saw the Judge walk into view flanked by Spike and Drusilla. _Crap._ The Judge stopped, and looked in their direction.

"We gotta get outta here," Angel said. They ran, but Spike's vampires headed them off. They were surrounded. _Double crap_.

The vampires brought them down to Spike, Drusilla, and the Judge.

"Well, well," Spike sneered. "Look what we have here – crashers."

"I'm sure our invitations just got lost in the mail," Buffy replied.

"It's delicious." Drusilla licked her lips. "I only dreamed you'd come." She gave a playful growl that was obviously aimed at Angel.

Angel struggled to get free. "Leave her alone."

"Yeah, that'll work," Spike smiled. "Now say 'pretty please'."

"The girl," the Judge pointed at Buffy.

"Chilling, isn't it?" Drusilla stood behind Buffy. She leaned in uncomfortably close to Buffy's neck. "She's so full of good intention."

"Take me!" Angel maneuvered himself between the Judge and Buffy.

"No!" Buffy cried.

"Take me instead of her!" he repeated.

Spike raised his hand. "Uh, you're not clear on the concept, pal. There is no instead. Just first and second."

"And if you go first, you don't get to watch the Slayer die," Dru giggled.

Angel's captors pulled him back as the Judge moved toward Buffy.

This was the kind of situation where most people would pray, hoping for some higher power to intervene. But Buffy wasn't like that. In her world, the highest power of all was herself.

_Well, then I had better get myself out of this._

She used her arms to lift herself up and kicked the Judge with both legs. When her feet made contact, pain shot through every nerve in her body. The Judge staggered back, but composed himself and stepped forward. Buffy steeled herself for the inevitable.

At this point, a set of televisions dropped onto the Judge.

Buffy looked behind her, and saw that Angel had shaken loose his captors and pulled the chain holding the TVs in place from the ground. Buffy used the confusion to break free herself.

"This way!" she called to him.

She jumped into a hole in the floor, with Angel close behind her. Drusilla shouted something, and soon they were being pursued by two more vampires. Angel pulled Buffy into an alcove, and they waited for the two vampires to go by. Once they were gone, Buffy climbed a nearby ladder to the surface.

It was pouring rain outside. Buffy helped Angel out of the manhole. They ran all the way to Angel's apartment. By the time they got there, Buffy was soaked through to her skin.

"You're shaking like a leaf," Angel said.

"Cold," she replied.

"Let me get you something."

Angel went to his wardrobe. He came back, handed Buffy a sweater and sweats, and led her to the bed.

"Put these on and get under the covers. Just to warm up."

Buffy nodded and waited for Angel to turn around. He figured it out after a second.

"Sorry."

Buffy started to take off her shirt, but winced at the pain in her shoulder.

"What?" Angel said.

"I-I got cut or something on my back."

"Let me see."

Angel turned back. Buffy held her unbuttoned shirt around her. Angel sat on the edge of the bed, and gently uncovered her shoulder so he could see.

"It's already closed. You're fine," he said.

They held still for a moment. Buffy finally let go, closed her eyes, and leaned back into him. She felt his arms go around her.

"You almost went away today," she said.

"We both did."

He held her tighter. Tears started to stream down her cheek.

"Angel," she sobbed, "I feel like I lost you."

"Shhhh. I -"

She turned and opened her eyes. They were face to face.

"You – what?"

After what seemed like forever, Angel spoke.

"I love you. I try not to, but I can't stop…"

"Me too. I can't either."

They kissed.

"Buffy," Angel started, "maybe we shouldn't…"

"Don't. Just… kiss me."

And he did. They kissed. Tenderly, passionately, the kiss of two people who had almost lost each other and never wanted to let the other go. They lay back on the bed.

For the first time since she had become a Slayer, Buffy was happy. Perfectly happy.

* * *

"She's still not home yet," Ted said, looking out the window.

"She said she probably wouldn't be coming home," Joyce reminded him. "She does this a lot – spend all night over with Willow or Xander."

"Still, we should probably check on her," Ted suggested. "It _is_ her birthday."

"I suppose." Joyce got the phone book, and read off the Rosenbergs' number. Ted dialed.

"Yes, Mrs. Rosenberg? This is Ted, Ted Buchanan. Joyce's friend. I was just calling to check on Buffy… no, Willow isn't here… well, Buffy told us they were going to be studying at your house… thank you." He turned to Joyce.

"Buffy isn't at the Rosenbergs."

* * *

Supporting Cast:

Seth Green as Oz

Robia LaMorte as Jenny Calendar

Juliet Landau as Drusilla

James Marsters as Spike

Eric Saiet as Dalton

Vincent Schiavelli as Uncle Enyos

Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers

* * *

A/N: Finally! This last act was pretty short (as you can see), and I did enjoy writing The Scene. The pace should pick up from here.


	11. Innocence: Teaser

Teaser:

Los Angeles, 1996

Angel wandered into an alley. He slumped against the wall, just letting go for a moment.

He smelled something. Scanning the alley, he saw a rat scamper across. He tried stalking it, but the rat proved to be quicker, escaping into a sewer drain while Angel landed in a pile of garbage.

"Good lord, you're disgusting."

Angel turned around and saw a well-dressed man standing at the entrance to the alley. He was stocky, bald, had a mustache, and spoke with a British accent. He also had no scent whatsoever.

"Get away from me," Angel said.

"Sorry, can't do that."

Angel charged the man – and passed right through him. He was a ghost.

"Besides, even if I was still alive, you wouldn't bite me anyway. After all, you're a vampire with a soul. A walking contradiction."

"Who are you?" Angel asked.

"My name is Merrick."

"Merrick?"

"Come with me. I need to show you something."

* * *

Credits:

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Nicholas Brendon

Alyson Hannigan

David Boreanaz

Charisma Carpenter

And Anthony Stewart Head as Giles

Created by Joss Whedon


	12. Innocence: Act One

Sunnydale, 1998

Angel looked down at Buffy. After a night of lovemaking, they had both fallen asleep in each other's arms. Buffy was still asleep, her head on Angel's chest.

For a century, Angel had been tormented by guilt. A soul was perhaps the cruelest punishment the gypsies could have devised. All the things he had done, all the people he had hurt and killed, he remembered everything.

Until now. For one moment, Angel had let go of all that. He had been happy – perfectly happy. And after that, the weight of his crimes felt lighter.

Of course, if they didn't stop the Judge, none of that would matter.

"Wake up, sleepyhead," he whispered.

"Mmmm." Her eyes slowly opened, and she looked at him.

After a minute of just staring into each other's eyes, Angel finally spoke.

"We have to go."

"I know." Buffy got out of bed, and started getting dressed. "This is my life. Get up, get dressed, go to school, save the world."

"Even Saturdays?"

"I told everyone to meet back at the library. So yeah, even Saturdays."

Buffy put on the sweats Angel had given her.

Angel looked at the window. Light was creeping around the blinds.

"It's daylight. You go on ahead."

"We'll take the tunnels."

Angel shrugged. "Okay."

* * *

Xander walked into the library.

"Well, the bus depot was a total washout. And may I say what a lovely place to spend the night. What a vibrant cross-section of Americana."

Jenny, Cordelia, and Willow looked at him, concerned.

"No vampires transporting boxes?" Giles asked.

"No, but a four-hundred-pound wino offered to wash my hair." He looked at everyone. "What's up? Where's Buffy?"

"She never checked in," Willow said glumly.

"If the bus depot is as empty as the docks and the airport…" Giles shook his head.

"Do you think this Judge guy's already been assembled?" Jenny asked.

"Yes," Giles replied.

"Then Buffy could be…" Xander started to panic. "Okay, we gotta find 'em. Um, we gotta go to that place, that, uh, that factory. That's where they're holed up, right?" He looked at Willow and Jenny. "Let's go."

"And do what?" Cordelia asked. "Besides be afraid and die."

"Well, nobody's asking you to go, Cordelia," Xander shot back. "If the vampires need grooming tips, we'll give you a call."

"Cordelia has a point," Giles said. "Now, i-i-if Buffy and Angel were, were… harmed, then we don't stand to fare much better."

"Yeah? Well those of us who were born with feelings are gonna do something about this," Xander declared.

"Xander…" Jenny started.

"No, Xander's right!" Willow cut in. "My God, you people are all… Well, I'm upset, and I can't think of a mean word right now, but that's what you are, and we're going to the factory!" She started out of the library, just as Buffy and Angel walked in.

"Buffy!" Willow greeted her.

"We were just going to rescue you," Xander said.

Willow threw Giles a look. "Well, _some_ of us were."

"Well, I-I would have," Giles replied defensively.

"What happened?" Cordelia slid off the counter.

"The Judge, i-is he…" Giles asked.

"No assembly required," Buffy deadpanned.

"He's active," Angel confirmed their worst fears.

"Oh, damn it," Giles whispered.

"He nearly killed us," Buffy continued. "Angel got us out."

"Why didn't you call?" Giles removed his glasses. "We, we, we thought…"

"Well, we retreated back to my place. Buffy got hurt, so we spent the night there," Angel explained.

"We should have called," Buffy added.

"Buffy, the Judge, we, we must stop him," Giles said.

"I know."

"What can you tell us?"

"Not much. I, um… I kicked him. It was just like a sudden pain. If he'd got his hands on me…"

"In time he won't need to," Giles said grimly. "The stronger he gets, he'll be able to reduce us to charcoal with a look."

"Also, not the prettiest man in town," Buffy added.

"We'd better continue researching, looking for a weak spot."

Jenny sat down at the computer. "I'll, uh, go on the Net and search for anything on the Judge."

"Thank you," Giles nodded.

"The rest of us should get book-cracking," Xander nodded to Willow and Cordelia. The three of them vanished into the stacks.

"I need to go check in with Mom," Buffy said. "Just in case… I need to see her."

"Yes, of course," Giles nodded.

Buffy walked out. Angel looked after her.

"Angel, maybe you could tell me more about what happened when Darla raised the Judge?" Giles asked.

For a moment, Angel said nothing. Finally, he turned around. "Sure."

* * *

Spike paced impatiently. Things were not going well. Angel and the Slayer had escaped. The Judge was just sitting there.

And his TV sets were wrecked.

"I'm not happy, pet," he said to Drusilla. "Angel and the Slayer are still alive, they know where we are, they know about the Judge… we should be vacating."

"Nonsense," Drusilla scoffed. "They'll not disturb us here. My Angel is too smart to face the Judge again."

Spike glanced over at the Judge. "What's Big Blue up to, anyway? He just sits there."

"I am preparing," the Judge replied without looking back.

"Yeah," Spike walked over, "it's interesting to me that preparing looks a great bit like sitting on your arse. When do we destroy the world already?"

"My strength grows," the Judge replied evenly. "And every life I take will increase it further."

"So let's take some!" Spike shouted. "I'm bored."

"At the behest of Darla, I fought an army. They hacked me to pieces. For six hundred years, my living head lay in a box buried in the ground." He turned to Spike. "I've learned two things from that experience. One is to be patient."

"Yeah, well, we're gonna need more than patience to defeat Angel and the Slayer," Spike scoffed. "What else did you learn?"

"Not to take strategic advice from vampires."

* * *

Buffy walked to her house.

It was strange. She hadn't had a very solid idea of what her first time with Angel would be like, but it wasn't like last night. Last night had been the result of fear. She had almost lost Angel, and she was still terrified of the Judge. If she didn't stop him, he would destroy everything she loved, everything she fought for. And somehow, Angel had managed to make all of that go away. In spite of all the terror, it was the best night of her life.

She had no intention of telling her mother. She knew they hadn't done anything illegal – the age of consent in California was 16. And protection wasn't really an issue – vampires couldn't get people pregnant. But she had only just told her mother about Angel, and she didn't need to deal with "The Talk" in the middle of an apocalypse.

That wasn't why she was here. She was here to see her mom – because it might be the last chance she would ever get.

She opened the door, and saw her mother standing in the doorway. Ted was behind her. Both had an "I'm very disappointed in you" look on their faces.

_Crap_.


	13. Innocence: Act Two

"Mom?" Buffy asked, her voice filled with terror.

"Get inside," Joyce ordered. Buffy obliged.

"You lied to us," Ted said. "You said you were spending the night at Willow's."

"That's where I was," Buffy replied, trying to maintain the façade. "I was just coming home to check in with you."

"We called Mrs. Rosenberg," Joyce said. "She thought Willow was staying over at our house. Not only did you lie to us, but you got your friends to help cover for you while you stayed out all night! And there's no telling how many times you've pulled this stunt before."

It also disturbed Joyce that Sheila hadn't been terribly concerned about this. She knew Sheila wasn't as close to Willow as she was to Buffy, but still…

"Mom…" Buffy started.

"Were you with Angel?" Ted accused. "Is that what you were doing?"

"…yes," Buffy admitted.

"What did you do? Were you doing drugs?"

"No," Buffy shook her head. "We… we slept together."

_Oh my God._

Joyce simply stared, trying to take this in. Buffy had said that they hadn't gotten that far yet, but Joyce wasn't sure if she believed her. Had she lied about that? Or had this been Buffy's first time, some sort of romantic birthday present?

Ted kept talking. Joyce was really glad to have him there. He could play the strong father figure.

"Buffy, this is unacceptable. I don't want you seeing him again."

Buffy looked down glumly while Joyce thought about this. It was her first reaction, but Joyce doubted that Buffy would actually listen to her. She was in love with the guy.

And Angel wasn't some football jock. He was an adult, a college graduate. And while Joyce thought he was a little too old for Buffy, that might actually be an advantage now. He could probably be reasoned with.

"No," Joyce said.

"What?" came the reply from both Buffy and Ted.

"Joyce, we can't just let this slide."

"Yes, but I'm not just going to tell Buffy she can't see her boyfriend again."

"So, what are we going to do?"

Joyce turned back to Buffy.

"Buffy, what you did was unacceptable. So you're grounded. Indefinitely."

Buffy's face sank.

"Now, once we're done, I'm going to call Angel, and have him come over. I think he'll understand what kind of behavior is acceptable after we talk to him. He can still tutor you in history, he can come over for dinner, and maybe, once you've regained my trust, you can go out with him again."

Buffy sighed with relief.

"Willow and Xander, on the other hand…"

"What about them?"

"I thought they were good kids, but they've helped you lie to me – and lied to their own parents, no doubt. They're a bad influence on you. I don't want you to see or hang out with them again. Ever."

This was the real punishment. Angel could be part of the solution, but Willow and Xander were clearly part of the problem. And Joyce didn't trust their parents to handle things on their end. Ira and Sheila were too distant, and Xander's parents… well, hearing Xander talk about them was enough.

"Mom, they're my friends. They're my _only_ friends."

"Not anymore."

"But, Mom –"

"Buffy, you lied to me. There are consequences! I am your mother, and so long as you live in this house, you will do as I say!"

"Mom, I can't lose Willow and Xander!" Tears were streaming down her face.

"Buffy, you have to make a choice. It's them or me."

Buffy stopped crying. She looked at Joyce, her face resolute.

"I love you, Mom. I want you to know that."

"Of course you do."

Then Buffy said the worst thing she could have said:

"Goodbye."

Joyce stood there in shock as her daughter turned around and walked out the door.

* * *

Xander found Cordelia in the stacks.

"Did you find anything?" he asked as he shelved his book.

"This book mentions the Judge, but nothing useful. Big, scary, no weapon forged can stop him, took an army to take him down. Blah, blah, blah."

"We need some insight, a weak spot."

"Well, we're not gonna find it here." Cordelia shelved her book as Xander came over to her. She turned to face him.

"Sorry I snapped at you before," he said.

"Well, I'm reeling from that new experience," she replied.

"I was crazed. I wasn't thinking."

"I know. You were too busy rushing off to die for your beloved Buffy," she pouted. "You'd never die for me."

Xander leaned in a little closer. "I might die _from_ you, does that get me any points?"

"No."

"Come on, can't we just kiss and make up?"

"I don't want to make up." Xander started to go when Cordelia stopped him. "But I'm okay with the other part," she smiled.

Xander smiled and kissed her. When they pulled apart, Xander saw Willow standing near the stacks. She had a horrible look on her face, a mixture of confusion, anger, sadness, and betrayal.

"Willow!" he called. But she simply ran off. Xander ran after her. Angel got up and tried to stop her, but she simply bowled over him. Xander caught up with her in the hallway.

"Willow, come on!" he said.

Willow turned and confronted him, shaking her finger. "I knew it! I knew it! Well, not 'knew it' in the sense of having the slightest idea, but I knew there was something I didn't know. You two were fighting way too much. It's not natural!"

"I know it's weird," Xander tried to explain.

"Weird? It's against all laws of God and man! It's Cordelia! Remember? The, the 'We Hate Cordelia' club, of which you are the treasurer!"

"Look, I was gonna tell you."

Tears were now streaming down Willow's face. "Gee, what stopped you? Could it be shame?"

"All right, let's overreact, shall we? Willow, we were just kissing. It doesn't mean that much."

Willow composed herself, before she delivered the killing blow.

"No. It just means that you'd rather be with someone you hate than be with me."

She headed back to the library. Xander stood there, wishing the Judge would come and burn him.

He heard footsteps behind him. Could it be? He turned around to face his executioner.

But it wasn't the Judge. It was something worse.

It was Buffy. And the expression on her face made the one Willow was wearing look like a cheery smile. The front of her shirt was stained with tears

Angel was there in a moment. And for once, Xander was grateful for his apparent ability to appear out of nowhere. Buffy needed him.

"Buffy, what happened?" Angel asked. "Did you go home and see your mom?"

Buffy looked at him. Her voice was strained, like she had been crying and crying and crying.

"I don't have a home anymore."

* * *

"When I got there, she and Ted were waiting for me," Buffy said.

"They knew that I hadn't spent the night at Willow's – they spoke to your mom," she looked at Willow, who was still recovering from the revelation about Xander and Cordelia. She was still hurt, but that was at best third on their list of priorities, behind stopping the Judge and, most important of all, helping Buffy.

"They figured out that I had spent the night with Angel, that we had –"

Everyone visibly reacted to the unspoken revelation. Willow almost smiled. But nobody said anything. It didn't matter that Buffy and Angel had slept together. What mattered was that _Joyce_ had found out.

"Mom said that I was grounded. She said that I had broken her trust. And then –"

"What?" Willow asked.

"She said that I couldn't see you again. Ever."

"Me?" Angel asked.

"Not you. She was actually going to call you and talk to you. But Willow and Xander – she said she didn't want me to see them again."

"Maybe if you explained…" Cordelia started.

"What? Explained that my boyfriend was a vampire? That the reason I had stayed out all night was so we could stop an invincible demon bent on killing every person on Earth? I'd be lucky if she simply thought I was lying."

"I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen. She said I had to make a choice between her and my friends."

"Buffy," Willow said, "you didn't have to choose us over your mother. I mean, we're your friends and all, but she's your mother."

"How could I not choose you?" Tears continued to stream down Buffy's face as she addressed her friends. "I need you, Willow. I need you too, Xander. And Angel. And Giles. And Jenny. And even Cordelia. Without you, I can't do my job."

"What do you mean?"

"How many times have you saved my life? How many times have you spent hours researching some monster so I could stop it? It wasn't a choice between my mother and my friends. It was a choice between keeping my home and saving the world."

Willow was in awe. She hadn't thought of herself that way. But it was true. They had been helping Buffy from the beginning. And now she had chosen them over her own family.

"What did you do?" Giles finally asked.

"What I came to do." Buffy took a deep breath. "I told her that I loved her. And then I turned around and walked out the door."

She broke down again. Wordless, crying, devastated.

"Come with me," Angel said. He held Buffy by the shoulders, and walked her out of the library. Willow simply looked after her.

* * *

Angel led Buffy to a vacant classroom. She needed some time to compose herself, but Angel had no intention of leaving her alone.

"Angel, I don't know what I'm going to do," she sobbed, leaning into him.

He had to help her. But how?

He had to throw her a lifeline. But it had to be more than simply letting her live with him. Buffy had just been rejected by her family. She needed something to replace that. As good as Xander and Willow were to her, they were just friends. Giles had been – and would no doubt continue to be – Buffy's Watcher and father figure, but that wasn't enough.

There was only one thing Angel could do.

He got down on his knees and took Buffy's right hand in his own.

"Buffy, will you marry me?"


	14. Innocence: Act Three

Angel stood on a rooftop, looking at the events in an alley below. He saw three vampires charging a blond teenage girl.

"This is what you wanted me to see?" Angel said to Merrick. "Three vampires?"

"Not the vampires, Angel," Merrick replied. "The girl."

The girl dropped to the ground. She swung her leg around, taking out the first vampire's legs before performing a backflip and landing on her feet. He was dust before he could even recover.

"Who is she?" Angel asked.

"Buffy Anne Summers, fifteen years old, until recently a sophomore at Hemery High School here in Los Angeles," Merrick stated. Angel looked at him quizzically, to which Merrick added: "She is the Slayer."

"The Slayer," Angel breathed.

The two other vamps attacked together. One of them managed to knock the stake out of her hand. The Slayer – Buffy – drove her fist into a wooden door, punching a hole in it. Grasping a wooden shard, she swung around and drove it into the vampire's heart.

"When I was alive, I was her Watcher," Merrick explained. "Unfortunately, I died before I had a chance to train her properly. She is alone."

Buffy traded blows with the remaining vampire. She was falling into a trap Angel had observed – forming a predictable pattern. She could keep this up for a while, but the vamp would soon find a way around it.

But she knew what she was doing. Without warning, Buffy delivered an expertly-placed front kick to the vampire's groin. She drove her improvised stake into his back, and then she was alone in the alley.

_God_, she was beautiful.

* * *

Buffy was stunned.

Angel had proposed to her. Something which she never thought would happen outside of her fantasies. He had asked her to marry him.

Her head swam. This was all too much for her.

"Buffy?" Angel asked, still looking into her eyes.

"Yes," she said. "Yes. I will marry you."

"Buffy…" Angel got up, about to kiss her.

"But," Buffy stopped him, "I need to know why."

"What?"

"Why did you ask me to marry you? I know it's not just because you love me. I will marry you, I just need to know why."

"Alright," Angel said. "Buffy, you just got rejected by your mother. You've lost your only real family. And you need that. You need more than a place to sleep at night, you need a home. You need someone to take care of you. I can't be your mother, but I can be your husband."

_Husband_. For whatever reason, that word had never entered into Buffy's fantasies about marrying Angel. Neither, for that matter, had _wife_. But that's what would happen. There would be the wedding, and the wedding party, and the honeymoon, and then… Angel would be Buffy's husband. Buffy would be Angel's wife.

Some things wouldn't change. Buffy would still be the Slayer. She would go out at night to patrol. She would fight vampires. She would slay vampires. And then she would come home to her husband, and he'd take care of her.

"Thank you, Angel."

"So, you'll still marry me?"

Buffy put on her best "frustrated wife" imitation. "Of course I'll still marry you, Angel. I just wish we could do it soon."

"What?"

"I'm 17, Angel. And I don't see Mom giving me parental permission anytime soon."

"Then we'll do it the way we did it in my time," Angel said. "We'll be engaged for a year and a day."

"It's set, then." Buffy took a deep breath. "Let's go save the world."

"One more thing." Angel slipped the claddagh ring off of Buffy's right hand. He then put it on her left hand, with the heart pointing away from her.

"This means we're engaged," he explained.

_Engaged_. They were sort of married, but not quite. Angel wasn't her boyfriend anymore, but neither was he her husband.

He was her fiancé.

They walked out of the classroom, hand in hand, ready to take on the Judge. Together.

* * *

The first thing Jenny noticed about Buffy when she got back was that she had stopped crying. The second was that she was holding hands with Angel. She wasn't the broken, crying wreck of a few minutes ago. She was the Slayer.

"Buffy, are you okay?" Giles came out of his office.

"Fine." She turned to the group at large. "The Judge. Where do we stand?"

"On a pile of really boring books that say exactly the same thing," Xander said, gesturing to the aforementioned pile of really boring books.

Buffy's expression dropped. "Let me guess: 'no weapon forged'."

"'It took an army.'"

"Yeah, where's an army when you need one?" Angel sighed. He looked at Xander. "What?"

Xander looked thoughtful. "Whoa. Whoa!" he gasped. "I think I'm having a thought. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a thought." He gasped again. "Now I'm having a plan!"

"What do we do?" Willow asked.

"I think, um…" he looked at Cordelia, then back at Willow. "I think I may need Cordelia for this one."

Willow lowered her eyes.

Cordelia spoke up. "Well, my car is…"

"It might have to be bigger," Xander interrupted.

"No problem, Willow said. "I'll get Oz. He has a van."

"Good." Xander looked at Cordelia again. "Okay."

"Care to let me in on the plan I'm a part of?" she asked.

"No."

"Why not?" She stood with her hands on her hips.

"Because if I tell you, then you won't do it. Just meet me at Willow's house in half an hour. And wear something trashy…" he looked at her clothes "…er."

Cordelia walked off in a huff. Xander and Willow left after her.

* * *

"I am almost ready," the Judge intoned.

"Good!" Spike shouted. "This had better work."

"You doubt my abilities?" the Judge asked.

"No, but I don't doubt the Slayer or her friends either."

The Judge turned to Spike.

"What do you mean?"

"I've killed two Slayers before. Both were tough. Both fought alone. Both died. But Buffy, she has allies. Not just Angel, she's got a whole gang with her. And everything I try, they manage to screw it up. I attacked her at school. I attacked her when she was weakened on Halloween. I even hired the Order of Taraka. All for nothing!"

He smashed a chair. "I swear, if this doesn't work, I'm giving up. I'm leaving Sunnydale."

"Do not worry," the Judge said. "It took an army to stop me last time. The Slayer does not have an army."

* * *

A black and white van pulled up outside Vandeburg Air Force Base. Xander got out, followed by Cordelia, who was wearing a jacket that looked like it was made out of aluminum foil. It was pretty trashy, and she couldn't remember how she had gotten it.

Xander led Cordelia to the fence. He found a weak spot, pushed the fence aside, and held it while Cordelia squeezed through.

"Security here really is a joke," he said as he followed through. "I should, uh, report it."

"Right. So you're a soldier, and I'm who?"

"You're supposed to be a girl. Think you can handle it?"

She slapped him. They sneaked alongside a building to some crates. Not seeing anything, they continued past a truck. Xander walked over to the door, and was reaching for the knob when he heard a voice from behind.

"Halt!"

Xander's arms shot into the air. As did Cordelia's.

"Identify yourself right the hell now!"

"Private Harris with the, uh… 33rd," Xander replied.

"33rd are on maneuvers," the soldier said.

"Right! I'm, uh, on leave." Xander turned around.

"You always spend your leave snooping around the armory, pal? And who is she?" The soldier pointed to Cordelia.

Cordelia kept her mouth shut. She figured it was the best way to avoid being shot.

"Look," Xander approached the guard, "I just want to give her the tour. You know what I'm saying."

"The tour."

"Well, you know the ladies. They like to see the big guns. Gets them all hot and bothered. Can you cut me some slack, gimme a blind eye?"

"And why should I?"

Somehow, Xander switched from being scared to being, well, _scary_.

"Well, if you do, I won't tell Colonel Newsome that your boots ain't regulation, your post wasn't covered," he grabbed the soldier's gun, positioned it differently, and handed it back to him, "and you hold your gun like a sissy girl."

The soldier looked at Xander. "You got 20 minutes, nimrod."

After they went inside, Cordelia finally said something.

"Okay, what was that? And who are you?"

"Remember Halloween, when I got turned into a soldier?"

"Yeah." She'd never say anything, but he'd looked really hot as a soldier.

"Well, I still remember all of it. I know procedure, ordnance, access codes, everything. I know the whole layout for this base, and I'm pretty sure I can put together an M-16 in 57 seconds."

_Whoa._ If Xander was telling the truth… then that made him Sunnydale High's reigning badass, ignoring Buffy.

"Well, I'm impressed. But let's just find the thing and get out of here."

"Okay." Xander started looking around.

Cordelia sat on a crate. "So, does looking at guns really make girls want to have sex? That's scary."

"Yeah, I guess," Xander replied, not looking up.

"Well, does looking at guns make you want to have sex?"

Xander turned around. "I'm seventeen. Looking at linoleum makes me want to have sex."

_Oh, right. Dumb question._

* * *

"I wish they'd hurry," Willow said. A civilian van sitting outside a military base was bound to attract attention. Not that she didn't mind sitting in a van with Oz.

"So, do you guys steal weapons from the Army a lot?" Oz asked.

"Well, we don't have cable, so we have to make our own fun."

"I get you."

"Also, this is an Air Force base."

"Ah."

Willow looked at Oz for a minute.

"Do you wanna make out with me?" she asked.

"What?"

She looked away. "Forget it. I'm sorry." Then she decided that she wanted to know. "Well, do you?"

Oz took a moment before answering.

"Sometimes when I'm sitting in class… you know, I'm not thinking about class, 'cause that would never happen. I think about kissing you. And it's like… everything stops. It's like… it's like freeze frame. Willow kissage."

He smiled. Willow, who was officially in love at this point, smiled at him.

"Oh, I'm not gonna kiss you," he deadpanned.

Willow was confused. "What? But freeze frame!"

"Well," Oz explained, "to the casual observer, it would appear that you're trying to make Xander jealous or even the score or something. And that's on the empty side." He looked off into space. "See, in my fantasy, when I'm kissing_ you_, you're kissing _me_."

Willow said nothing. Oz-logic was irrefutable.

He looked back at her. "It's okay. I can wait." The window of the building opened. "We're up."

* * *

"Angel?" Giles called.

Buffy and Angel, who had been sparring, stopped to look at him.

"A word in private."

Angel gave Buffy a quick kiss before coming over.

"I've been thinking, and I cannot figure out how you managed to restore Buffy's spirits so quickly."

"Her spirits?"

"Look at her."

Buffy was currently testing her knife-throwing skills. Compared to her other skills, she wasn't very good at it. Compared to almost any other human, she was a master.

"When Buffy returned from seeing her mother, she was devastated. She had just chosen to sacrifice her family ties, her home. You took her out of the room, and when you returned, she was confident and ready to fight the Judge. And I cannot imagine what could have brought about such a change."

"I… well… uh…" Angel hemmed and hawed, before dropping a bombshell.

"I asked her to marry me."

Giles stood there, not sure how to react.

_Bloody hell!_

"She said yes," Angel added.

"Angel, she's the Slayer!"

"I know, Giles. I know there's no happy ever after for us. There will always be something out there that she needs to stop. This week it's the Judge. Next week, Groxlar beasts. She'll go out there, fight it, save the day. We'll help."

"But what about after the battle, Giles? She's the Slayer, but she's also a person. She needs food, a place to sleep, someone to take care of her."

Giles thought about this.

"You're right, Angel. I believe that one of the reasons Buffy has survived this long is because she still had a family. But she has lost that now. I suppose I imagined myself filling that role, but you could do it just as well. Possibly better."

"So, I take it I have your permission?" Angel asked.

"My permission?"

"Sorry. I'm sorta stuck in the 18th century."

It took a moment before Giles realized what Angel was talking about. In his time, Angel would have needed permission from Buffy's father to marry her.

Angel saw Giles as Buffy's father – and, by extension, as his own future father-in-law. And in every respect apart from the law or genetics, he was.

"Yes, Angel, you do have my permission to marry Buffy."

"Thank you."

"Just remember that if you ever hurt her, I will stake you myself."

"Got it."


	15. Innocence: Act Four

"She seems to be doing fine," Angel commented as they walked away.

"For now. And the Council will send another Watcher to take my place," Merrick continued. "But if it were that simple, the Powers That Be would not have sent me here."

"Why are you here, Merrick?" Angel asked the obvious question.

"A Slayer is a creature of destiny, Angel. Without a Watcher, she will be drawn to where she is needed. She will subconsciously seek out the darkest evil."

"Sunnydale," Angel realized. "The Hellmouth."

"Your old friends, the Order of Aurelius, have set up shop there. She will go there. And she will face the evil that is in there. And she will die."

Angel thought about that. He knew that all Slayers died eventually. But for whatever reason, he didn't want Buffy to die.

"What do you want me to do?" Angel asked.

"Go to the Hellmouth. Help her. Become her ally."

_Ally_. It would be difficult to think of the Slayer that way. For two hundred years, the Slayer had been a source of fear.

How could he ally with a nightmare?

* * *

"OK, so we'll come in together from the east entrance," Buffy pointed to a spot on the map.

"Good idea," Angel nodded. "It should be shaded from the sun."

"Happy Birthday, Buffy!" Xander called as he and Oz came into the library, carrying a long crate over their shoulders.

"Hope you like the color," Oz added as they set it down. Angel smashed the clasp with his hand and opened it.

Buffy looked into the box. "This is good."

Jenny stood in the doorway. "Something I can do?"

Buffy looked at her. "Help Willow and Cordelia with the grenades."

"What grenades?" she asked, confused.

"These grenades!" Willow grunted as she and Cordelia carried another box in.

"Seriously, I think these things are made out of lead," Cordelia complained.

"Get the smoke grenades," Buffy ordered. She looked back into the box. "Xander, can you show me how to work this thing?"

"Sure."

"Crossbows!" Giles came in, clutching several crossbows. "Make way for crossbows!"

"Ah," Oz smiled.

Giles handed out crossbows to everyone except Buffy and Angel, who each took swords. Buffy stepped into the middle of the room.

"Everyone clear on the plan?"

They all nodded.

"Then let's do this."

* * *

"I am ready," the Judge finally announced.

"About time!" Spike picked up an axe. "Get ready, boys. We move at sunset."

Drusilla started whimpering. "No, no, no, no!" She collapsed to the ground.

Spike rushed to her side. "What is it, Ducks?"

"It is too late. The angel of death is here."

"What?"

Without warning, several objects crashed through the window. Smoke poured out, obscuring the room.

"What is it? What's going on?" Spike roared. Dru stood beside him.

"I'm back," came a voice from the doorway.

"Who's there?" Spike called.

Angel stepped out of the smoke. He was in full vamp face and carried a sword.

"I'm here, Spike."

"You fool," declared the Judge. "No weapon forged can kill me."

"That was then," Buffy replied, standing beside Angel. And then she did something that Spike could never have forseen.

She pulled out a_ BLOODY ROCKET LAUNCHER!_

"This is now."

As Buffy started flipping switches on the _BLOODY ROCKET LAUNCHER_, Spike dove to the ground, taking Drusilla with him. The Judge merely stood there.

"What does that do?" he asked.

His last words.

A missile streamed forth from the _BLOODY ROCKET LAUNCHER_, blowing the supposedly-invincible Judge to pieces.

"Alright then," Spike shifted to vamp face, "let's do this the old fashioned way!"

"Very well," Buffy grinned. She lifted her eyes to the ceiling.

"FIRE!" she called.

And then Spike saw it. The smoke grenades had concealed it, while Buffy, Angel, and the _BLOODY ROCKET LAUNCHER_ had distracted him from seeing it.

Buffy's friends were standing in the rafters. Six of them. All with crossbows.

They fired. One hit Drusilla in the chest. By fortune, it missed her heart.

Four other vampires weren't so lucky.

Buffy and Angel charged. One unfortunate minion stood in their way, and was cut down like wheat. There was nothing between them and him.

This was what Spike had wanted. An ultimate showdown with the Slayer, his strength against hers, Drusilla at his side. And then he realized something.

He couldn't win.

Choosing his self-preservation instincts over his bloodlust, Spike grabbed the wounded Drusilla and made for the manhole cover. He hurled his axe at Angel to slow him down. Once inside the sewers, Spike kept running.

It was over.

* * *

"Well, that was quick," Cordelia said.

"I didn't expect him to run," Angel gazed at the open manhole. "He must have realized that he couldn't win."

"How could he win?" Xander smirked. "You had a rocket launcher."

"I had more than a rocket launcher, Xander," Buffy replied. "I had friends."

Angel put his arms around Buffy. Inevitably, she kissed her fiancé.

"Do you wanna tell them?" Angel whispered.

"Sure." They turned back to the group. "Um, guys, Angel and I have an announcement."

"We're getting married," Angel smiled.

Willow's squeals of joy drowned out all subsequent conversation.

* * *

"Well, this is it," Buffy stood at the open doorway to Angel's home.

"You don't need an invitation anymore, Buffy. It's your home now. You live here."

Buffy tentatively stepped inside. She set her bookbag down by the door, and looked around. Angel followed her gaze to the barebones kitchen. "We'll need to buy real food for you. We'll stop by the supermarket tomorrow."

Buffy nodded. "I'll swing by my house in the morning, pick up my stuff while Mom's at the gallery."

Something was wrong. Angel could hear it in Buffy's voice.

"Buffy, are you okay?"

She broke down completely. Sobbing, crying, she collapsed on the bed.

Angel rushed to his fiancée's side. He cradled her in his arms.

"I miss my mom," she sobbed.

Angel should have seen this coming. His proposal hadn't erased the pain of Buffy's break with her mother. It had given her the strength to put it aside and fight the Judge, but now that the Judge was gone, she was letting go.

There were no words he could think of to comfort her. So he didn't try. He just held her. He held her in his arms until the tears stopped.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Angel," Buffy whispered.

"Let's never find out," he replied.

They kissed. And once again, they created a island of happiness in a sea of pain.

* * *

"Hang on, princess," Spike assured the sleeping Drusilla. "We're almost to Los Angeles."

It had been a harrowing few hours. Spike had wanted out of Sunnydale as fast as possible. So he and Dru had stolen the first car they saw that Spike liked. They would go to Los Angeles, and from there to someplace that didn't have Slayers with _BLOODY ROCKET LAUNCHERS_. Maybe the other side of the world.

Up ahead, Spike saw a sign that read "YOU ARE NOW ENTERING LOS ANGELES CITY LIMITS". Grinning, he gunned the engine.

It turned out that Los Angeles signs were significantly sturdier than their Sunnydale counterparts.

* * *

Supporting Cast:

Seth Green as Oz

Robia LaMorte as Jenny Calendar

Juliet Landau as Drusilla

James Marsters as Spike

Richard Riehle as Merrick

John Ritter as Ted

Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers

Brian Thompson as the Judge

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews. I have to warn you in advance that the next chapter probably won't be out as soon as you'd like. I need to write an outline first.

Also, while it's great to hear that you love what I'm writing so far, I'd like to get some more detailed feedback. Ways I could improve my writing, story ideas you'd like to see, anything. Also, if there were any particular parts you loved, say so, so I know what kind of stuff you like.


	16. Phases: Teaser

A/N: Sorry for the wait! Life has been difficult, and I wanted to get the whole thing outlined before I started writing.

* * *

Teaser:

"Hey, Will!" Buffy called to her friend, who was watching the Dingoes finish up their last song.

"Buffy, you're looking awfully cheerful," Willow pulled out a chair. "May I ask why?"

"I am now a fully emancipated minor," Buffy sat down in the proffered chair.

"Good for you! I take it you found a source of income?"

"I did." Buffy looked up and behind Willow. "Hey, boss."

"Hey, Buffy," Oz replied. He was standing behind Willow.

"Wait, what?" Willow looked confused.

"Oh, I hired Buffy as a stagehand," Oz explained. "She's stronger than the four of us put together."

Which is why Oz paid her twelve bucks an hour. This was how Buffy would be making a living from now on.

"So, to celebrate, I am inviting all of you over to what is officially my house on Saturday."

"I'll be there," Oz promised.

"I'll give Xander a call!" Willow said. "What's his number? Oh, yeah, 1-800-I'm-Dating-A-Skanky-Ho." She rolled her eyes.

"Meow!" Buffy replied, surprised at the jab. Not that she disagreed with the sentiment. Oz was completely silent – probably wise on his part.

"Really? Thanks," Willow blushed slightly. "I've never gotten a meow before."

"Well deserved."

"Darn tootin'!" Willow sat back in her chair. "I'm just saying, Xander and Cordelia? I mean, what does he see in her anyway?"

* * *

"But what could she possibly see in him?" Xander broke the kiss, much to Cordelia's exasperation.

"Excuse me? We didn't come here to talk about Willow. We came here to do things I can never tell my father about because he still thinks I'm a good girl."

"I just don't trust Oz with her. I mean, he's a senior, he's attractive – okay, maybe not to me, but – and he's in a band. And we know what kind of element that attracts."

"I've dated lots of guys in bands," Cordelia replied. Two of whom were in the same band as Oz.

"My point exactly," Xander nodded.

"Do you even want to be here?" Cordelia was getting frustrated. "Because when you're not babbling about poor, defenseless Willow, you're _raving_ about the all-powerful Buffy."

"I do not babble," Xander responded. "I occasionally run on, every now and then I yammer…"

"Xander?" Cordelia interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Look around. We're in my daddy's car, it's just the two of us, there's a beautiful, big full moon outside tonight. It doesn't get more romantic than this. So shut up!"

A clawed, hairy arm tore through the roof of Cordelia's father's convertible.

"AAAAAAH!" she screamed.

End Teaser

* * *

Credits:

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Nicholas Brendon

Alyson Hannigan

David Boreanaz

Charisma Carpenter

And Anthony Stewart Head as Giles

Created by Joss Whedon


	17. Phases: Act One

A/N: I own nothing. Joss owns all, that evil bastard.

* * *

"Get us out of here!" Xander said. The hairy arm tore another hole in the roof.

Cordelia searched frantically for her keys. "Where are they? Where are they??" She was panicking now.

"We need to get moving NOW!" Xander shouted.

"Found 'em!" Cordelia fumbled as she tried to start the car up. When the engine finally revved up, she floored it.

"Thought I heard something," Xander muttered as they drove away.

* * *

"And you're sure it was a werewolf?" Buffy asked.

"Well, it might have been a Wookie, but as this is Sunnydale and not Tatooine, I'm going with werewolf." Xander had his arm around Cordelia as they explained what had happened last night.

"It was awful," Cordelia moaned. "It was like being in a horror movie. Then again, that's pretty much par for Sunnydale."

"At least you escaped unhurt," Giles inspected the damage to Cordelia's car. The roof was completely torn through – not that Cordelia would have a problem paying for repairs. "However, I fear that the werewolf will be back with next month's full moon."

"What about tonight's full moon?" Willow piped up.

"Pardon?"

"Well, last night was the night before the full moon, traditionally known as… the night before the full moon."

"Then the accepted legend that werewolves always prowl before the full moon might be erroneous! I need to consult my books." Giles walked away.

"I'll hack the SPD, look at the police reports from last night, see if I can find any pattern," Jenny left after Giles.

"And we'll… go to class," Buffy frowned.

Maybe this was why Kendra studied.

* * *

Three boring classes later, Willow and Buffy met up for lunch.

"So," Willow asked, "how are things with Angel?"

"They're… good," Buffy replied, a little hesitantly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… everything's different now. Before, I was like any other girl. I lived at home with my mom, and I saw my boyfriend whenever I could. Now I don't see him, I _live_ with him. He's a part of my daily life. He's the first thing I see when I get up, and the last thing I see when I go to sleep."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Willow smiled.

"It is… but it's not what I thought it would be. We don't spend every minute we're together kissing." _Or other things_. "We have to live our lives. I still have to get up and go to school in the morning. I still have to eat. I still have to patrol in the evening – and now I'll be working as well. And I can't get away with not doing homework anymore." Buffy lowered her head for a moment. "So, how about you and Oz?"

Willow's smile faded.

"Oz and I are kind of in a holding pattern," she said glumly, "only without the holding… or anything. I mean, he said he was gonna wait till I was ready, but… I'm ready! Honest. I'm good to go here."

"I think it's nice he's not just being an animal," Buffy tried to point out a positive side.

"It is nice. He's great. We have a lot of fun. But I want some smootchies."

"Well, have you dropped any hints?"

"I've dropped anvils."

"Don't worry. He'll come around," Buffy assured her. "What guy could resist your wily, Willow charms?"

"At last count? All of them. Maybe more."

"Well, none of them know a thing. They all get an 'F' in Willow."

"But I want Oz to get an 'A.' And, ooh, one of those gold stars."

"He will."

"He'd better hurry. I don't want to be the only girl in school without a real boyfriend. I mean, you're _engaged_. That's like, boyfriend _squared_."

"Well, what about Cordelia?"

"What do you mean? She has Xander."

"Yes, but all they do is fight and make out. And in my experience, it doesn't count unless you actually care about each other."

* * *

In the courtyard, Cordelia found Harmony perusing the latest copy of _Vogue_. Surprisingly, her current boyfriend, Larry, was absent.

"Harmony!" she called.

"Hey, Cordelia," Harmony sneered.

Cordelia ignored the sneer. "We need to coordinate outfits for the dance."

"Oh, are you and Xander wearing matching outfits?"

"What?"

"Well," Harmony stood up, "a girl's got to look good for her geek."

"Shut up, Harmony." Yes, Xander was a geek, but he was a hot geek. "Anyway, I'm wearing red and black, so you need to switch -"

"Red and black? Is that what Xander likes? Or what he's paying you to wear."

_That_ caught Cordelia's attention. "Say that to my face!"

"I said," Harmony got right in Cordelia's face, "is that what Xander's paying you to wear, _you whore_? What are you going to do about it?"

"Me? Nothing. I was just trying to distract you so my boyfriend could get behind you."

Harmony turned around just in time to see Xander's fist on a collision course with her face. She crumpled to the floor like a blow-up doll with a hole in it.

"Nobody calls my girl a whore."

"Thanks." Cordelia took Xander's proffered arm as they walked away.

"You know, that's going to mess up your plans for the dance."

"Oh, I'll coordinate with Buffy."

* * *

Buffy walked into the library to find Jenny poring over a map of Sunnydale.

"So, any progress?" she asked.

"Yes, actually," Jenny looked up from the map. "I went over the police reports from last night, and I think I've managed to trace the werewolf's path."

"And?"

"Well, it seems as if the werewolf started here," she pointed to the makeout spot where Xander and Cordelia had been attacked, "and moved through the center of town, eventually hitting the Fish Tank. Looks like it did a lot of damage there."

"Think we should check it out, Giles?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, actually. I've been having a problem finding solid information on werewolves."

"Really?" This was new – Giles not having information.

"I would have thought you'd have dozens of books on werewolves," Jenny inquired.

"I do. Unfortunately, they are quite contradictory. The _Codex Noctis_, for instance, states that werewolves can only be harmed with silver weapons. But the Watcher's Diaries have multiple accounts of slayers fighting werewolves with conventional weapons. Some sources claim that werewolves retain their minds, others that they become animals in wolf form. If I could see the result of this attack, it might help me pin down the truth."

"Let's go, then."

* * *

Giles had never been to the Fish Tank before. By reputation, it was the kind of place he would have enjoyed going to in his youth – and a place that he would have forbidden Buffy from ever going to unless she had a supernatural reason.

But as Buffy did have a supernatural reason, Giles gave her a ride.

"'Closed for repairs'," Buffy read the sign on the door. She then calmly kicked it, reducing the door to firewood.

"Buffy, was that strictly necessary?" Giles asked.

"Relax. They'll assume the werewolf did it."

She was probably right.

The place was wrecked – confirming his fears about the strength of werewolves. The werewolf had barreled right through the eating area, leaving several upturned tables, broken chairs, and one shredded couch in its path.

Fortunately, there had been no fatalities – or even serious injuries. The werewolf clearly wasn't very fast.

"Buffy, any luck?" Giles called. She came over, holding a video tape.

"I think I found the security footage. We should take a look –"

"Who goes there?" came a voice from the stage.

Giles had seen a lot of things in his life. Monsters, demons, magic, and far too much death. But the man pointing a gun at him was still rather scary.

_Bloody Americans and their guns._


	18. Phases: Act Two

Guns were not something Buffy ran into very often. In her entire career as a Slayer, she had only been shot at twice – once in Las Vegas, and once by Darla.

With any luck, today wouldn't be the third.

"I said, who goes there?" the gunman repeated. He was dressed in a heavy coat, and carrying a long-barreled hunting rifle.

"Name's Buffy," she replied evenly. "Who are you?"

"Cain. Gib Cain. Now what are you doing here?"

"Hunting werewolves?" It just came out. Though Buffy couldn't think of anything better to say.

Cain lowered his gun, then began laughing.

"It's funny if you don't believe in werewolves…" Buffy started.

"No, it's funny to think about you killing one."

"I can handle myself." Buffy didn't want to reveal her identity as the Slayer, but she had her pride.

"Let me ask you something. How many werewolves have you killed?"

"Killed?"

Cain displayed a tooth necklace.

"I tore a tooth from every wolf I kill. This one will make it an even dozen."

"And it doesn't bother you that a werewolf is a normal person twenty-eight days out of the month?"

"I don't know if they really are. All I know is that the other three, they're a monster."

After a minute of Buffy and Cain staring at one another, Cain put away his gun.

"Well, I'm done here. Any idea where else the boys and girls like to get together in this town?"

"You looking for a party?"

"No, but the werewolf is. They're suckers for that whole 'sexual heat' thing. Sense it miles away. But this place isn't opening tonight, so the werewolf'll look elsewhere."

"Sorry. Can't help you." Not that Buffy didn't have a few ideas, but she wasn't about to tell him.

* * *

"Well, this outing was very illuminating," Giles said after Cain left.

"Yeah, but now we've got two problems," Buffy muttered. "Stop the werewolf from biting people, and stop Cain from killing the werewolf."

"Do you have a plan?" Giles asked.

"Assemble the troops."

* * *

"Okay, people," Buffy addressed the assembled Scooby Gang in the library. Everyone was there – Willow, Xander, Giles, Cordelia, Jenny, Oz, even Angel.

"We've got less than an hour before sunset. We need to capture the werewolf so it can't bite anyone, and we need to stop Cain so he can't kill it."

Her gaze wandered around the room, before settling on the girl next to Xander.

"Cordelia. What are the most likely locations in town for people to get together?"

"Well, with the Fish Tank closed, the Bronze is going to be even busier. There's the place where Xander and I were attacked near the woods. And there's the Motel 6 – lots of one-night stands there."

"That's three places for us to cover." Buffy thought for a moment. "Oz and I will take the Bronze, since the Dingoes are playing there anyway. Angel, can you get into a motel room uninvited?"

"I doubt it."

"OK, then you and Willow can go to the woods. Xander, Cordelia, Jenny, Giles, you cover the Motel 6. Let's move, people!"

* * *

Cain sat in the back of his van, contemplating the silver bullet he had just made. As he waited for sunset, his thoughts turned to the idiotic little girl he had met earlier.

What had she been doing there? As funny as the idea of her hunting a werewolf was, she had acted completely seriously. Maybe she was a good shot. Maybe she wasn't alone – there had been that older guy with her, though he looked like a librarian.

He wondered if she might be the werewolf herself. Serial killers sometimes revisited their crime scenes, why not werewolves? Not that he would shoot her unless he had actually seen her change from human to werewolf.

Cain had seen his dad had been ripped apart by a werewolf when Cain was 18. After that, he had dedicated his life to hunting the monsters, so they could never hurt anyone else. He wasn't in this for thrills, or for money.

He was in it because it was the right thing to do.

* * *

Covering the Bronze was actually a little boring. Buffy mostly came to hang out with Willow, Xander, or Angel. But they were off covering other locations. And after helping the Dingoes get set up and staking out a good vantage point, there wasn't a whole lot to do except sit and watch the band.

She decided to try vamp-spotting. Buffy hadn't been able to sense vampires the way Giles said she should, but she could often pick them out based on a dozen different clues. Outdated clothes were a big one – that was how she had identified the first vamp she had encountered in Sunnydale. Well – knowingly encountered. The first was Angel, but she only found that out weeks later. Pale skin was another hint – any human living in Sunnydale ought to have a decent suntan.

Even nerds like Tucker Wells.

Buffy was pretty well attuned to anything out of the ordinary, and a pale Tucker Wells at the Bronze, chatting to girls, and not making a fool of himself, was definitely out of the ordinary. His current target was Lishanne Davis, a _cheerleader_.

Not wanting to draw attention to herself, Buffy simply watched them from afar. Vampirism seemed to make just about anyone more charismatic, and Tucker was no exception. He was making Lishanne laugh, and even danced with her before heading to the exit. Buffy followed.

Outside the Bronze, Tucker and Lishanne were kissing against the side of the building. Buffy had seen this a hundred times. When she closed her eyes, he would vamp out, let her scream, then feed.

Fortunately, vamps in feeding mode rarely paid attention to their surroundings. As they kissed, Buffy crept closer. When Lishanne closed her eyes, Buffy drew a stake. And Tucker was dust the moment Lishanne started screaming.

"Oh my… oh… what was that?" Lishanne panted. Her dress – a rather nice shade of purple – was covered in Tucker dust. Tears started to roll down her face.

"Don't worry, you're OK," Buffy held Lishanne's shoulders, comforting her.

"He was… a vampire…" Lishanne sobbed.

"You're fine. Go on home."

Lishanne nodded. She wiped away her tears, and started walking away.

Most Sunnydalers didn't admit to the existence of vampires. That probably had to do with the fact that most people who saw vampires didn't live to talk about it. But thanks to Buffy, there were more and more survivors.

Buffy wished everyone knew the truth. She thought that if she got on stage at the Bronze and announced that vampires were real, most Sunnydalers' reactions would be like Oz's "that explains a lot!" rather than her own initial disbelief.

And if everyone knew she was the Slayer, it might be easier too.

When Buffy went back in to the Bronze, the Dingoes were done playing. She went upstage to help them break the set.

"Hey, Buffy," Oz greeted her, "you walked out on us!"

"Sorry." Buffy picked up a drum set like it was made of cardboard. "Had some unscheduled slayage."

"Oh, I see. Well, at least that's over."

In retrospect, those were very poor words, for just as Oz finished talking, a werewolf burst through the back window onto the stage.


	19. Phases: Act Three

The werewolf was strong. Very strong. With one blow, it sent Buffy flying into the sound system. She wasn't hurt, but she was trapped underneath a rather heavy speaker. Buffy heard a lot of screaming. She heard Oz screaming. He was injured, or worse…

With no regard for how much damage she caused, Buffy hurled the speaker off to the side. Seizing a set of chains she had planted before the show, she leapt to her feet, and got a good look at her opponent.

The werewolf was on the now-empty dance floor. It was clearly not a normal wolf. It was built roughly like a human, or maybe a bear. It had thick, dark fur, clawed hands and feet, and a very wolfish snout. It growled at her.

Buffy wasn't used to fighting animals. Vampires were monsters, but they were at least intelligent. But somehow, she knew what to do. Maybe it was a Slayer thing. Or maybe it was some billion-year-old primal instinct. She stepped fully onto the stage, and let the wolf look at her. Her body tensed, awaiting an attack.

Instead, the werewolf fled. It didn't just walk away, it _bolted_, leaving a very confused Slayer on the stage.

Buffy turned to Oz. His left shoulder was bleeding, and he was clearly in pain. But he was holding himself together. Buffy took his right arm and helped him up.

"Let's get you out of here. Can you walk?"

"Yeah."

Buffy helped Oz off the stage.

"We need to get you back to school. I think Xander knows first aid."

There was another reason they weren't going to the hospital. Oz had been bitten. He needed to know what that meant.

Buffy passed Cain as she walked outside. Neither said a word. Cain's gaze lingered briefly on Oz's shoulder before he left.

Buffy really needed to stop him.

* * *

Cordelia had to admit it – Willow had good taste in guys. Because _damn_ if Xander giving a shirtless Oz first aid wasn't the sexiest thing she had seen in a long time.

A loud thump brought her back to reality, as Giles dropped a pile of books on the table.

"We need to get to work," Giles said. "We're operating very much in the dark, and we need information more than ever. Oz has been bitten by a werewolf, and he needs – we need to know what that means."

Everyone nodded. Giles started handing out books.

"Cordelia, the _Black Chronicles_. Chapter fourteen deals with werewolves. I'm not sure how reliable it is, but it might point us towards others sources. Write down any names you find."

"I'm on it." She got a piece of paper and pencil out of her bag.

"Angel, can you read Russian?"

"Yeah."

"Diary of Dmitri Vasilov, werewolf hunter in the nineteenth century. Xander, does Oz still need first aid?"

"I need alcohol to disinfect the wound. The stuff Nurse Jackson has is too weak."

"Mrs. Weber keeps a bottle of vodka in her desk. Second drawer on the right."

"Got it. Oz, keep pressure on the bite." He walked out briskly.

"Uh, Jenny –"

"Internet." She was already starting up the library computer.

"Willow, the _Codex Noctis_."

Willow grabbed the massive tome out of Giles' hand.

"And Buffy," he handed the Slayer a stack of books and a spiral-bound notepad, "here are the Watchers' Diaries. I've, uh, indexed the various slayers who've encountered werewolves." He tapped the notepad.

"Don't the diaries go back thousands of years?" Buffy asked, the trepidation clear on her face.

"They do. Those are only the last five centuries. The previous ones weren't even in English."

Buffy grimaced.

* * *

"Found anything?" Buffy asked Willow.

"Nothing, really," Willow sighed. "It's like Giles was saying - lot of stuff about werewolves, but it's all contradictory." Willow slammed her book shut. She slumped against the end of a bookshelf.

Buffy was fairly certain of the reason for her friend's distress. "How are you holding up?"

"It's... complicated. I mean, I want to help Oz. I want to find something to help him deal with this." Her voice quivered. "But at the same time... I'm scared of him now."

"Because he's a werewolf?"

Willow nodded wordlessy.

Buffy sat down next to her friend. "Look. Oz being a werewolf doesn't change anything."

"Does it?" Willow turned to Buffy, her eyes watering up. "How do you know?"

"Willow," Buffy put her hand on her chest, "I'm engaged to a vampire. I know what it's like to be in love with a monster." Buffy didn't like that word. "Monster" wasn't how she would describe Angel. But she couldn't come up with a better one.

She looked at Angel. "The thing is, Will, it doesn't matter that he's a monster. I know Angel loves me. I know he cares about me more than anything. And I know that no matter what the demon in him wants, he's never going to hurt me." She turned back to Willow, one hand on Willow's jaw. "And that's what matters."

* * *

"Found anything good?"

Angel turned around to see Oz looking over his shoulder. He looked back at the book and sighed.

"If you want to kill werewolves, plenty. He spends entire pages on the best kind of musket to use on a werewolf, how to make silver bullets, and how to distinguish werewolf tracks from normal wolves."

"I see."

"I can also tell you that this guy was basically a serial killer. He'd shoot someone if there was any chance they were a werewolf. In fact, he says that they're easier to kill when they're human. He also recommends taking out their families, just to be safe."

In fact, the guy wasn't that different from how Angel himself had been.

"Oh."

"On the bright side, I'm pretty sure I killed him in St. Petersburg, and I'm suddenly not so remorseful."

Oz smiled at that. "So at least you did some good."

"Don't get me wrong. I thought he was just some drunk. If I'd known who he was, I'd have turned him into a vampire so he could do even more damage."

"You were really that bad?"

"I was a monster. And I still am. Only now I control it."

"How?"

Angel turned to Oz.

"Well, for one thing, I have a soul. That's what makes me different. I still crave the taste of human blood, but I won't take it."

"True. But even if you're a vampire, you're always yourself. I saw the werewolf – it was an animal." Oz sat cross-legged beside Angel. "How can I control myself when I'm like that?"

"I don't know," Angel shook his head. "But we'll be there for you. See, that's the other thing. I was alone for a hundred years, avoiding any human contact. Now I have friends in the world. And not just Buffy – Willow, Giles, Xander, even Jenny and Cordelia."

"Me too?"

Angel looked at Oz. Of all the people in the room, he knew Oz the least. He knew Oz was a guitarist, he was dating Willow, he was Buffy's boss… and he was now a werewolf. That was about it. They had only first met at Buffy's birthday party two weeks ago.

But that was when everything had changed. And Oz had helped them fight the Judge. He had driven Willow, Xander, and Cordelia up to Vandeburg to steal the rocket launcher. He had stood with the other Scoobies and rained crossbow bolts on Spike's boys. Oz was made of tough stuff – most people would be freaking out right about now.

"Yes, Oz. You, too."

* * *

Buffy was getting frustrated.

For one thing, most Watchers wrote in a style that was fairly archaic – in other words, boring. A few were more interesting, and one or two could have made it as a fantasy author, but your average Watcher made Joseph Conrad look like Douglas Adams. It probably didn't help that most Slayers didn't live on Hellmouths, and had much less interesting careers than Buffy's.

Not that she hadn't found anything interesting in the Watchers' Diaries. It was fascinating to read about her predecessors. Of particular interest was Emelie Duchamp, a French Slayer from the late seventeenth century. She had had extensive contact with a young werewolf named Pierre-Antoine Bastian. Her Watcher, Albert Dawes, wrote:

"Despite several hours spent contemplating this fact, I cannot fathom why Emelie continues to remain in contact with Mssr. Bastian. While he seems to be able to control himself, he is at best a distraction to her, and at worst a danger. She has stated that it would be impolite to cut off contact with a friend. I have reminded her that a Slayer has no friends, but to no avail. It must be a French thing."

Buffy smiled. Reading between the lines, it was obvious from the text that Emelie was in love with Pierre-Antoine. The relationship also seemed to have done some good – she lived for three and a half years, significantly longer than most Slayers.

But while this anecdote had provided one tidbit – namely, that it was possible for a werewolf to control themselves – they still hadn't found much information. Knowing that it was possible was good, but that didn't help much.

"Anyone else found anything?" Buffy yawned. "My brain's just about turned to mush."

"Same here," Jenny sighed. The others murmured assent.

"I've had no luck with the names Cordelia gave me," Giles set a book down on the table. "The problem seems to be that every account we've found is secondhand at best, and most of those come from werewolf hunters. The werewolves themselves don't seem to leave much in the way of records, so there's no information to help Oz deal with being one."

"Maybe I can help you with that."

Eight heads turned to see a wiry, black-haired boy in a leather jacket standing in the doorway. By the looks on everyone's faces, nobody else recognized him. But Buffy did.

"Pike?"


	20. Phases: Act Four

"Hey, Buffy." Pike smiled at her. Within seconds, Buffy had her arms around her old friend.

"What are you doing here?" she stepped back, holding him by the shoulders to get a good look at him.

"Uh, who is this?" Cordelia asked.

"Oh, sorry." Buffy turned around. "Everyone, this is Pike. He helped me fight vampires back in Los Angeles. Pike, this is Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Angel, Jenny, and Giles," she introduced each in turn.

"Another old friend from Los Angeles?" Xander stood up and looked at Pike suspiciously. "And you're sure you can trust him?"

"Yes, I'm sure." After what happened with Ford, Buffy would have been slow to trust anyone from Los Angeles, but Pike was the exception. Pike had been her first ally.

"It's, uh, very good to meet you," Giles shook Pike's hand. "You, uh, said you could help us?"

"Yeah. Basically… I'm your werewolf." Pike noticed Oz's bandaged shoulder. "Sorry."

Oz did not reply.

* * *

"I got bitten about three months ago. I decided to come here for help." Pike looked at Buffy. "I figured that if anyone could help me, it would be you." He glanced back at Oz. "I also guessed that the guy I bit might be with you. Thought I could help him."

"Help me how?" Oz asked.

"Tell you what it's like to be a werewolf."

"The first time I changed, I didn't remember anything. One minute I was alone in my room, the next I was naked in an alley halfway across town." Pike smiled at the memory. "But then things started to come back to me. Bits and pieces at first. Now, I remember everything that happens while I'm a wolf."

"So you and the werewolf have a connection," Giles realized.

"Yeah. And it works both ways – the wolf can eventually draw on my memories as well. That's why I didn't attack you, Buffy. The wolf remembered you."

"It didn't want to hurt her?" Oz asked hopefully. If so, then he wouldn't be likely to hurt Willow.

"It also didn't want to get its ass kicked by the Slayer," Pike leaned back in his chair. "I've seen you beat the crap out of vampires, Buffy. If there's one thing that the wolf and I agree on, it's that fighting you is a bad idea."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Buffy replied.

"So Oz isn't really a danger," Willow piped up. "I mean, we're his friends. He won't attack us!"

Pike shook his head. "I don't know. It's his first time. There's no connection yet."

"And he might go after someone else," Jenny added. "I mean, Pike didn't want to attack Buffy, but that didn't stop him from going after Oz."

"I suppose we could… lock them both in the book cage," Giles suggested.

"That should work," Pike nodded.

* * *

"So," Buffy asked Pike, "how did you get bitten by a werewolf? Thought you'd know better than to go out at night."

"Yeah, well, I'm stupid," Pike laughed. "I was out hunting one night, got attacked."

"Hunting?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah." He nursed a coffee. "I guess once you've seen… what we've seen… you can't just forget about it. So I kept going after vamps even after you left."

Buffy got a look of concern on her face.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not alone. I hooked up with this one guy, name of Gunn. Good man. Cute sister." He smiled. "Anyway, he and his gang have been fighting vamps for years. They know how to do it and not die."

"Do they know about you being a werewolf?"

"No. I haven't told them. I'm kinda scared that they might kill me. And we don't have a book cage in Los Angeles to hold me."

"Well, we've got a gig in L.A. next week. Oz and I could swing by, explain things to your gang, get something set up."

"I knew you'd help," Pike smiled. He looked back at the other people in the room. "Looks like you've got your own gang here."

"Yep."

"I noticed one of them – Angel, I think – he was looking at you a lot. Are you and him –"

"Engaged." She smiled. "The wedding's next January. You're invited, by the way."

"What's his story? He's a little old to be a student."

"Vampire with a soul," Buffy deadpanned.

"Wait, did you say _vampire_?" The last thing Pike had expected was for Buffy to be working with a vampire – let alone _engaged_ to one.

"With a soul," she repeated. "Angel's on our side."

Pike was still a little stunned. But he was hardly going to contradict Buffy. If she felt she could trust him, then he was probably OK.

"I can never figure you out," he said at last.

Buffy looked at the clock. "It's time."

* * *

As Cain finished reassembling his gun, he looked towards the horizon again. The sun was almost down.

Hunting – whether you were hunting deer or werewolves – was mostly patience. Cain had spent all day outside the school, waiting for sunset so he could go in and take out the new werewolf. Cain would never shoot a possible werewolf in human form, unless he had seen them change. The boy might not be a werewolf. And Cain would give him a chance.

Also, he never had to deal with the cops this way.

Cain downed another cup of coffee. Being a werewolf hunter meant spending three days of the month awake. It wasn't easy at the best of times, but spending all day staking out a high school after two days with no sleep required considerable effort – and a lot of caffeine.

Cain glanced again at the horizon. The sun was down. It was time.

* * *

Everything was set up now. Jenny and Cordelia had left, while Willow, Xander, and Giles would stay to watch over Pike and Oz for the night. Buffy and Angel were off to patrol. Buffy had taken a pager so Willow could contact her if anything went wrong.

Now all there was to do was wait for the moon to rise.

"So, anything else I should know about being a werewolf?" Oz asked.

"Well, you may start craving a lot of meat, especially after you've changed. I try to eat a lot around the full moon, so the wolf isn't so hungry."

"OK." That was actually a pretty good idea. "Any upsides?"

"Heightened senses. Especially smell. That's how I found you here. After I changed back to human, I went back to that nightclub, and tracked you here."

"Cool."

Without warning, adrenalin surged through Oz's body.

"It's starting."

Oz felt something growing inside of him. It was ancient and primal. He looked at his hands – they were covered in fur.

Then everything went black.

* * *

Xander didn't want watch the change. But at the same time, he couldn't look away. He simply stared away as Oz and Pike grew fur. As their faces elongated into snouts. As their teeth became fangs. As they turned into werewolves.

It was not pleasant to watch.

Xander saw Willow rushing out of the library, cupping her hand to her mouth. Even Giles was looking a little pale. At least when vampires changed their appearance, it was quick. Xander resolved then and there that if he ever ended up guarding a werewolf again – and he figured it was likely – he would look away when they changed.

And now the most boring part of fighting monsters – waiting.

* * *

Cain crept down the hallways of the high school, gun in hand. For whatever reason, the werewolf hadn't left yet. Maybe it was eating the stupid blond girl. Or maybe she had actually managed to restrain it. Why she would do so in a school of all places, Cain had no idea. But it didn't matter.

He picked up the sound of growling from not too far away. Rounding a corner, he saw a set of double doors. The sign above them said "LIBRARY". The wolf was in there.

As Cain considered how to proceed, he heard another sound from nearby. The sound of someone throwing up, followed by a toilet flushing. A slim, red-headed girl walked out of the restroom – and right into him.

"Oof!" Cain stumbled backwards. The girl sized him up.

"Let me guess – you're here to kill the werewolf?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Cain replied. In addition to teaching him how to hunt, his father always taught him to be a gentleman. Being polite would get you very far in life.

The girl thought for a moment, then gave him a very _un_-gentlewomanly punch in the jaw, knocking him to the floor.

"GILES!" she screamed, and ran back into the library. Cain scrambled to his feet. When he got there, the library doors were open, and the scariest librarian he had ever seen was standing there.

That he was a librarian – or at least a teacher – Cain was nearly certain. He was older than Cain, wearing glasses and a tweed jacket. However, he also had a grim expression on his face, and a crossbow in his hands.

"Leave, or I fire," he demanded. His accent was British. Cain recognized him as the man who had accompanied Buffy to the nightclub.

"Not a chance," Cain stood his ground.

The librarian fired. Cain's reflexes were fast, but the crossbow bolt managed to graze his cheek. His hand went to his face, and he cringed in pain. When he recovered, the librarian was already reloading.

Cain considered himself a brave man. But in truth, his ability to face down werewolves without fear came from experience. A werewolf isn't so scary after you've killed eleven of them before.

He had never faced an angry British librarian with a crossbow before.

So he ran. He found a door labeled "ROOF ACCESS". He had glimpsed a skylight in the library – that would be much better than trying to get past the librarian.

Another crossbow bolt embedding itself in the door before he closed it told him he was right.

* * *

"Willow, page Buffy," Giles ordered.

Willow put in the number as if Oz's life depended on it. Which it did.

"Done."

Willow heard the sound of breaking glass from above. She looked up, and saw Cain looming overhead.

"Up!" she yelled.

Xander raised the tranquilizer gun and fired at Cain. He missed, but it was enough to throw off Cain's aim. The bullet struck the lock on the book cage. Oz and Pike growled.

Willow didn't even think about what she was doing. She grabbed a battleaxe lying on the table, and swung it at the lock, smashing it. Oz and Pike burst out the door. Pike skidded to a halt, then bolted for the door. Oz followed.

"After them!" Willow raced after Oz, still holding her battleaxe. Giles and Xander were right behind her.

* * *

Cain would be lying if he said that things always went well hunting werewolves. There was always some complication. But never had he met people who were hell-bent on protecting these werewolves from him. And who used a crossbow anymore?

Cain followed them from a safe distance. He knew how to be stealthy, and they were more concerned about tracking the werewolves.

Sometime after they entered a forest, Cain heard the distinctive sound of an air rifle firing, followed by two yelps. He found them in a clearing, and Cain finally got a good look at his quarry.

There was the librarian, of course, still holding his crossbow. He had removed his glasses, and now looked even more fearsome. Wielding the air rifle was the same boy who had taken a shot at him at the school. And the girl who had punched him was now clutching a _battleaxe_. A fourth man was unarmed, but he looked no less capable than the rest of them. They were standing between Cain and the werewolves.

Who the hell were these people?

"Get out of the way," Cain demanded, pointing his gun at the wolves.

The fourth man laughed.

"What's so funny?" Cain tilted his head in confusion.

It felt like being hit with a wrecking ball. Cain flew halfway across the clearing, landing with his face down in a mound of earth. When he got up, Buffy – the blond girl who had challenged him – was standing behind him. She knelt down, picked up his rifle, and bent the barrel.

"Get out of my town." She threw the gun back at him.

* * *

When Oz woke up, he wasn't at Sunnydale High. He was in a crypt. He looked around to see Pike slowly getting up.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked.

"If I remember right," Pike got to his feet, "we got attacked by that werewolf hunter, and somehow got out of the library. I don't remember how we got here, though."

"I shot you," Xander's head poked through the door. "Sorry. Buffy and Angel dragged you here." He tossed two sets of clothes in. "Get dressed."

After they got dressed, Willow and Buffy came in.

"Morning," Buffy greeted them.

"Hey, Oz," Willow was looking directly at Oz. Buffy seemed to notice this.

"Pike, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure." They walked out, leaving Oz and Willow alone. There was an uncomfortable silence for a minute.

"How you doing?" Willow finally asked.

"Not that bad," Oz replied. "I mean, at least I didn't hurt anyone last night. Still may take some time getting used to."

"Yeah," Willow nodded. "It's a complication."

"So..." he started pacing, "maybe it'd be best if I just... sorta..."

"What?" Willow looked worried.

"Well, you know, like, stayed out of your way for awhile." It wasn't that Oz didn't want Willow – he did – he just didn't want her to be afraid.

"I don't know," she said after a momen. "I'm kind of okay with you being _in_ my way."

Oz stopped and faced her. "You mean, you'd still..."

"Well, I like you. You're nice and you're funny. And you don't smoke. Yeah, okay, werewolf, but that's not all the time. I mean, three days out of the month I'm not much fun to be around either."

Oz stood there in awe. "You are quite the human."

Willow smiled."So, I'd still if you'd still."

"Oh I'd still. I'd _very_ still."

Her smile got even bigger. "Okay."

"Agreed," Oz replied.

"There's a coffee shop across the street. You want me to get you something?"

"Danish would be nice."

Willow walked off with a smile on her face. Then she turned around. She looked at him, then planted a kiss right on his lips before leaving again. Oz watched her as she went, a smile on his face.

"A werewolf in love," he said to himself.

* * *

Cain sat in a Fremont bar. Sunnydale had been a disaster for him. He had been _defeated_ – not by a wolf, but by a misguided girl with superhuman strength and some very strange friends.

"Gib Cain?"

A man with a thick accent sat down next to him. He had a knowing look on his face.

"My name is Enyos Kalderash. I believe we can help each other."

* * *

Guest Stars:

Jack Conley as Cain

Seth Green as Oz

Jason Hall as Devon

Robia LaMorte as Jenny Calendar

Vincent Schiavelli as Enyos Kalderash

Milo Ventimiglia as Pike

* * *

A/N: First of all, thank you for all the reviews!

Second, I am dropping the episode titles for the remainder of the season. Next up is "Domestic Troubles", where Buffy and Angel deal with the realities of their new relationship. Following this will be two linked episodes: "Agony" and "Vengeance". After that, we have "Pilgrimage" (guest-starring Bianca Lawson), "Requiem" (guest-starring Eric Balfour), and then the finale: "Justice" and "Angel of Death".

Finally, I would like to encourage you to include speculation in your reviews. Knowing what your expectations are makes it so much easier to mess with them, which any self-respecting Buffy fanfic writer should try to do. To kick off the speculation, I am dropping one little tidbit:

We have already met the Angel of Death.


	21. Domestic Strife: Teaser

A/N: Joss owns all, praise his dark name.

Teaser:

"You failed us!" Enyos roared. "You failed in your duty to your family!"

"It was not my fault!" Jenny retorted.

"How is it not your fault? You were told to separate the girl from Angel. You did not separate them. And now the elder woman tells me his pain is lessening by the day! You failed!"

"I almost succeeded. Angel was about to leave Sunnydale." She crossed her arms. "If you're looking for someone to blame, blame the vampires who attacked them at the docks."

"And what about after?" Enyos waved a finger in Jenny's face. "They were together, and you did nothing! You betrayed your family!"

"I was _protecting_ our family!" Jenny roared back. "If we hadn't stopped the Judge, he would have wiped out the Kalderash people along with the rest of humanity! You should be thanking me. You should be thanking _Angel_! He's done more for our family than you ever have!"

"So we should just forget what he did to our people?" Enyos walked around the hotel room. "We should forget the daughter he killed?" He shook his head. "What he does now is irrelevant. Do you know what vengeance is, Janna?"

_Not the vengeance lecture again!_

"To the modern man vengeance is a verb, an idea. Payback. One thing for another. Like commerce. Not with us. Vengeance is a living thing. It passes through generations. It commands. It kills." He came back to Jenny. "And now we will try again. The girl and Angel must be separated."

"I… don't think that's possible," Jenny shook her head. "They have grown even closer. They are betrothed. I can't think of anything to break them up."

Enyos smiled. "You are thinking too small, Janna. Remember, we are Romany. We have our ways."

End Teaser

* * *

Credits:

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Nicholas Brendon

Alyson Hannigan

David Boreanaz

Charisma Carpenter

And Anthony Stewart Head as Giles

Created by Joss Whedon


	22. Domestic Strife: Act One

_Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!_

Buffy lazily reached over and hit her alarm clock. She didn't even pick her head up from Angel's chest.

"You need to get up, Buffy," Angel whispered.

"I don't want to get up. Your chest is too comfortable."

Angel responded by sitting up in bed.

"Hey!"

"You need to get to school."

"Right."

Buffy slowly got out of bed, and walked right into the shower. It was one of the few luxuries Angel's apartment had. When she had first moved in, all he had had was soap, shampoo, and hair gel. But last weekend, Buffy, Willow, and Xander had snuck into her old house while Joyce and Ted were out, and Buffy had retrieved her toiletries.

Buffy stepped out of the shower, toweled herself off, and then opened her dresser. This was the "big haul" as Xander had called it. Rather than just taking her clothes, Buffy had taken her entire dresser from her room. It was now sitting next to the washing machine. Rather odd, but it was a piece of home. It also had the only large mirror Buffy could get her hands on – Angel had no use for one. On top were her various personal effects – a framed picture of herself ice-skating, Mr. Gordo, a jewelry box.

She stood before the mirror to apply her makeup. She had used to have a bunch of photos taped to it, mostly featuring her parents. But those photos were gone – kept in a small drawer. All that remained were a few of herself with Willow and Xander. Angel was completely absent. Buffy was planning on rectifying that.

Buffy sat down at the table for breakfast. The one thing she hated the most about living with Angel was his lack of a proper kitchen. He had no oven, no stove, no microwave, not even a toaster – just a refrigerator for blood. Breakfast for the last month – in fact, it was one month, to the day, since she had moved in with Angel – had consisted of cereal. Angel joined her, drinking his usual cup of blood. It was one of the things that disturbed Buffy, but she was willing to overlook it.

* * *

Classes were the usual. Science was boring beyond words – Dr. Jones, the science teacher who had replaced Dr. Gregory, was up there with your average Watcher. History was better – Mr. Miller was generally regarded as both easygoing and enthusiastic. Also, Buffy was actually proud of her report on the Irish Potato Famine – Angel had helped with that. Not only had he and Darla had spent some time in Ireland during the famine, but Angel had closely read the newspapers covering it (mostly for entertainment). There were certainly advantages to having a 200-year-old fiancé.

As Buffy walked towards her English class – usually almost as boring as science – she continued to think about Angel. Her reverie was broken by Cordelia tapping her on the shoulder.

"Buffy, Giles wants you in the library. Something about a bunch of murders."

"Thanks. Give me the Cliff Notes later?"

"No problem."

Buffy turned around and headed to the library. She found Giles poring over the _Sunnydale Press_.

"Giles?" she knocked on the door.

"Ah." Giles got out of his chair and turned around. "There you are."

"Cordelia sent me. She mentioned murders?"

"Yes." He pointed to the headline, which she read aloud: "'Veteran police officer murdered in home'." She set the paper down. "Doesn't strike me as monster-related, necessarily. Definitely not vampires."

"The police believe it was gang-related." Giles started pacing. "But it doesn't quite fit. The man was stabbed to death, so the murderer obviously entered his house. But no valuables were taken. And there's this."

Giles turned the paper to the third page.

"Two other murders – an old man and a doctor. Same M.O., same lack of stolen valuables."

"Any ideas?"

"None right now. I'll – I'll do some research for now. But I'd like you to look out for anything on your patrol tonight."

"Got it."

* * *

Buffy arrived home shortly after sunset. Angel was there to greet his fiancée.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hey." They kissed briefly. The first time she had come home after a normal day, they had made out for thirty minutes. But now things were mellowing out – not that Angel really minded.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Normal." Buffy set her bag down by the table. "There's been a rash of knife killings recently – Giles thinks there might be a cult in town." She opened the refrigerator.

"Angel? We're out of food."

"We are?" Angel came over. It was indeed empty, apart from half a dozen packets of blood hanging from a rack, and a carton of milk in the door.

"Well, maybe you should get some food yourself," Angel said, in a fairly condescending tone. "You're the one making money."

"You've got that bank account!" Buffy replied. "You've been able to buy blood for a year, you couldn't buy your fiancée anything?"

"Buffy, you need to learn to take care of yourself. I am not your mother, it is not my job to coddle you, and you need to grow up!"

"Ugh!" Buffy threw her hands in the air in frustration.

"Besides," Angel lowered his voice slightly, "there's still milk." He eyed the counter where a box of raisin bran was sitting. "And there's raisin bran. You could have cereal."

"Angel, I have had cereal for breakfast _every single day_ for the past month!" Buffy shouted. She reached into the refrigerator, and pulled out four of the packets of blood. Before Angel could stop her, she had ripped them open over the sink. He watched as two days worth of blood went down the drain.

Angel simply stood there in shock as Buffy stormed out.

* * *

The minute Buffy stepped outside, she started crying.

It felt horrible, fighting with Angel. She _loved_ him. For months, she had wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. But for a moment there, she wanted nothing to do with him. She hadn't physically attacked him, but by destroying the blood, she had hurt him. And she felt ashamed.

The door opened, and Angel came out. "Buffy…" he started.

"Angel." Buffy rushed into his arms. "Angel, I'm so sorry."

"It's OK," he assured her.

"No, it's not OK."

"It was just a fight. It wasn't even our first."

That was true, Buffy had to admit. Before she and Angel had started dating, there had been multiple fights.

They stood apart, hands on each other's shoulders.

"I'll get you some blood on the way home after patrol," Buffy promised.

"I'll go get some groceries," Angel replied "and look into a microwave."

Buffy smiled – not just at the prospect of having _cooked_ food, but at the thought that Angel would get her something he had no use for. A microwave would take a large chunk out of his savings.

"See you later." Buffy gave Angel a quick kiss, then headed off on patrol.


	23. Domestic Strife: Act Two

A/N: Sorry for the extra-long wait. So much has been going on – school, a new job, other fanfic ideas – but I haven't abandoned this story!

* * *

"Morning, Giles," Buffy called as she, Willow, and Xander came into the library.

"Oh, good morning," Giles came out of his office, a steaming cup of tea in his hand. "So, how was your patrol last night?"

"Pretty uneventful," Buffy plopped down at the table. "Killed two vamps at the Bronze. You know, maybe we should hang a few crosses around there."

"Would help keep the vamps away," Xander nodded.

"Ooh!" Willow got her "clever idea" look. "You could put holy water in the sprinkler system, then set it off!"

"You know, I tried that once with a casino in Vegas," Buffy smiled. "Cleaned the whole place out, but not the kind of thing you can do repeatedly."

"While normally I would be happy to discuss creative ways to kill vampires," Giles sat down, "we have more immediate problems." He pulled out the newspaper. "There was another murder last night – a man named Arnold Newsome. Same M.O. as the previous ones."

"_Colonel_ Arnold Newsome?" Xander grabbed the paper.

"You know him?" Giles inquired.

"He was one of the bigwigs at Vandeburg Air Force Base – where we got the rocket launcher and grenades from."

"Well, that is… interesting." Giles peered at the article. "I had thought that the victims might be randomly selected, but the chances of them picking a senior Air Force officer out of everyone in Sunnydale are fairly low. We should find out more about the other victims."

"Hey guys, I've got some information on the other victims," Cordelia announced as she entered.

"Good timing, Cordy!" Xander said.

"Well, the dead cop's name was Jack Crossworth. He'd been on the force for eight years. Before him, there was Michael Polinger, a retired airline pilot. And the first victim was Dr. Alexandra Maher, a surgeon at Sunnydale General."

"That's a lot of information," Giles took off his glasses. "Where did you get it?"

"I went over to the police station last night, told them I was a reporter writing an article on the murders. One of the officers told me just about everything."

"Good work," Buffy got up. "Anything else?"

"Well, according to the cop I spoke with, Jack Crossworth was an outstanding cop. Several citations for bravery, worked with underprivileged kids, that sort of thing. Polinger, the old guy, won the Medal of Honor in Vietnam. And I think that Dr. Maher had just won some sort of medical award."

"Thank you, Cordelia." Giles replaced his glasses. "Now we have to determine what connects these people.

"They were all heroes," Willow said.

"Come again?" Giles asked.

"Well, you've got the cop – he had citations for bravery. The surgeon – she's saving lives every day!"

"The retired guy won the Medal of Honor," Xander deadpanned. "Which can only be awarded for risking your life above and beyond the call of duty." _Buffy should have one_, he thought.

"Right. Well, look at Colonel Newcombe's obituary on page nine," Willow pointed to the page.

"'Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions as a pilot in the Gulf War'," Cordelia read aloud.

"So, Giles, know of any demons that go after heroes?" Buffy asked.

"More than I would like to," Giles got up. His voice took on a very grim tone.

"Most demons are basically selfish. They seek food, pleasure, or power. They see humans as prey, nothing more. But demons that target heroes, they aspire to be something more than just demons. They hold up evil as an ideal, committing evil acts for their own sake."

"Like the Master," Buffy got an uncomfortable look.

"Precisely. Had he succeeded in opening the Hellmouth, he would not have become ruler of the world. At best, he would have served one of the pure demons that came through. But that wasn't the point. What mattered was that every single human would eventually suffer a horrible death because of what he did. To put it very bluntly, it was the worst thing imaginable that he could do."

Everyone was silent for a moment as they digested what Giles had said. Xander had never really considered _why_ the Master had wanted to destroy the world. He had just thought of him as a comic book supervillain, who didn't need a reason to do evil – all too true. It was difficult to grasp that someone – even a vampire – would actually want to do something like that.

Finally, Buffy spoke.

"Well, Angel said that he'd see if he could find anything."

* * *

Angel sauntered into Willy's Bar. It was the middle of the day, and the place was empty. Perfect for gathering information. Angel didn't get along with Willy's usual clientele, and Willy was much more open when he was alone.

"Hey, Angel," Willy greeted him. "What can I get you?"

"Well, I could use some information," Angel replied, putting a hint of menace in his voice. "Someone's been killing humans in their own homes. Know anything?"

"Apart from what I read in the paper?" Willy shook his head. "I haven't heard anything. Sorry."

"You're sure?" Angel upped the menace. "Three humans have been stabbed to death in their homes, but no valuables taken."

"Four, actually – wait, did you say 'stabbed'?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, recently, several vampires have been booted out of their lairs and crypts. Apparently, a lot of the demons that normally live underground are moving to the surface. There was this one vamp last night, said he heard something about guys with knives underground."

That was… actually quite a bit of information. Though "underground" wasn't that helpful in Sunnydale. "Did he say anything more specific?"

"Something about not even demons being safe in the Hellmouth. Anyway, the vamps have moved back into the factory. Place was deserted after you and your girl kicked Spike and his gang out."

"Thanks, Willy." Angel turned around and left.

"Anytime, Angel."

* * *

"Cordelia?"

Cordelia turned around to see Xander standing behind her in the hallway.

"What is it?"

"Can we talk?

_And by "talk" you mean "make out"._ Not that Cordelia particularly minded. "OK."

Xander led Cordelia into a nearby closet. She leaned in to kiss him. Surprisingly, he put his hand up.

"What's wrong, Xander?" He had never acted this way before.

"I actually wanted to talk, for once." Off her expression: "Seriously."

"About what?" This was rather new. Most of time, talking with Xander meant fighting with Xander.

"About you going to the police, getting information from them."

Cordelia blushed. "Yeah, I know, it was –"

"- very impressive."

"Impressive?"

"Well, for one, I would never have thought of going to the cops and pretending to be a reporter. I don't think I'd be able to pull it off. Usually, I just let Willow hack into their servers."

"Oh." Now Cordelia felt superior again.

"But more importantly, you did it on your own. You did it without me or Giles or Buffy or Willow telling you to. Why did you do it?"

Cordelia got defensive. "I did it because some demon is killing people, Xander!"

He smiled. "Exactly. You did it because it was the right thing to do." He put his hands on her shoulders. "Congratulations – you are officially a member of the Scooby Gang."

Had Xander said that two months ago, she would have scoffed. But now, she actually felt _honored_.

"I still feel kinda bad about lying to the cops," she said.

"Lying to people who don't know about vampires and demons is an essential part of being in the Scooby Gang," he assured her. "I mean, I lie to my parents all the time. Buffy lies to pretty much everyone. It's for their own protection."

"I see." She was silent for a moment. Finally, her mind wandered back to the start of the conversation. "Now can we make out?"

"Sure."

* * *

"Honey? I'm home!" Buffy smiled as she said it. It was _so_ cheesy, but it felt right. It was… domestic. Which was exactly what she needed in order to settle in to her new home.

"Buffy!" Angel got up from the table. He came over and kissed her.

"So, how was your day?" he asked.

"Oh, the usual. Giles thinks that whatever's behind these murders is targeting heroes." She set down her bag. "Anything on your end?"

"I went to see Willy. Nothing much, but he mentioned that something's been driving demons away from the Hellmouth – guys with knives. The demons, in turn, are driving out the vamps from their crypts, so they're moving onto the surface. A bunch are at the factory."

"You went to Willy?" Buffy was surprised. "And you trust him after he sold you out to Spike?"

"Buffy, the world isn't as black-and-white as you think. Sure, there are good people like us, and there are demons like Spike. But then there's people like Willy. He may not have much in the way of morals, but he's useful to us. Don't worry, you'll understand eventually?"

"'Eventually'?" Buffy set down her bags. "Like I'm not old enough to understand it now? As far as I see it, Willy sold you to Spike. He can't be trusted."

"I'm not trying to insult you, Buffy!" Angel's voice rose slightly. "But you're only seventeen. I'm over 200. I have life experience that you don't."

"'Life experience'?" Buffy scoffed. "Let's summarize your 'life experience'. You spent your youth drinking and whoring, without any accomplishments you could feel proud of."

"Buffy…"

"Then you became a vampire, and spent the next hundred years killing and torturing as many people as you could."

"Buffy…" Angel was really getting agitated now.

"Then you got a soul – and not because you wanted one – and spent another hundred years moping around before the Powers got you off your ass."

"Buffy!" he shouted. She didn't let up.

"On the other hand, I may not have much 'life experience', but I've spent the last two years actually _doing_ things. Fighting vampires. Saving the world. I have been in a mental asylum, I was cursed by a witch, hell I _died_! So don't talk to me as if I'm some kid and you're a wise old man. I've done more in my life than you ever have!"

She turned around and walked out the door.

* * *

The minute she got outside, she started crying. And once again, Angel was there to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Angel. I shouldn't have brought up your past," she sobbed.

"I shouldn't have talked down to you," he replied. "It's easy to forget all you've done, all you've been through."

"Got any 'life experience' in dealing with fights like this?" she asked dryly.

"Well, if Darla and I got angry with each other, we'd find some people to kill. Let off some steam." He laughed a little. "Not much help here."

A light bulb went off in Buffy's head. She pulled away from Angel.

"Didn't you say that a bunch of vamps had moved back into the factory?"

"I did." Angel was getting the are-you-thinking-what-I'm-thinking look.

"Get out the weapons."


	24. Domestic Strife: Act Three

Buffy drove a stake through the heart of yet another vampire. Another grabbed her from behind. She gave him a good head butt, which knocked her out of his grip. She swung around with a roundhouse kick, sending him flying into a wall.

It was a shock attack. These vampires were completely unprepared. Nor did they have the benefit of proper leadership.

Less than a minute after Buffy and Angel had popped out of the sewers, only one vampire remained, unconscious by a pillar.

"You want to finish him off?" Angel asked Buffy. The bloodlust in his voice was palpable. Buffy knew that the demon Angelus was still in there. She wondered if Angel had decided to let him out for a minute against the vampires.

"Actually, I thought we might question him first. Maybe he can tell us more about what's going on."

Angel tensed, then calmed down. Buffy sauntered over to the vampire, a young Hispanic male dressed in a white tank top. Buffy noticed what looked like gang tattoos on his left arm – he was probably from Los Angeles. She removed the cross from around her neck and touched his ear with it.

That woke him up. He jerked up and nearly kicked Buffy back. His eyes opened and darted around. He shifted back to human, and his expression became even more terrified.

"What – what's going on?" he asked, his voice trembling.

"What's going on with the Hellmouth?" Buffy stared at him.

"I don't know!"

Angel knelt beside him. He was in full vamp mode. He grabbed the vampire's hand.

"Listen, pal. We can either do this the easy way…"

He bent the vampire's index finger back 90 degrees. The vampire screamed in pain.

"…or the hard way."

"Okay! Okay! I'll talk!"

"Good," Buffy smiled evilly.

"About a week ago, these guys showed up in the Hellmouth – the Master's old crypt, beneath the school. They smelled human, but they killed anyone who got in their way. That's why we came up here – to get away from them."

"What did they look like?" Buffy asked.

"Red robes, bald, black eyes, weird tattoos on their forehead. And they had these wicked sharp knives they used to kill. I think they might be a cult of some kind. There was this older vamp, saw them, said he was leaving Sunnydale and never coming back. Said we should do the same." He looked around, noting the absence of his former buddies. "Maybe he was right."

"That's all?"

"That's all I know. Now can I go?"

Buffy staked him without a word.

* * *

Buffy had never been to the Master's lair since that terrible day last year. Even on her occasional patrols underground, she had avoided it. The memory of dying was extremely traumatic. Her last thought had been utter horror at the realization that her death would bring about the end of the world.

When they arrived, it seemed almost the same as the last time they were there. Candles illuminated the space. Natural rock formations were interspersed with pieces of a building – Giles had said that this had once been a church.

And in the center, a single figure wearing a dark red robe. He looked up at Buffy as she entered. He had a strange tattoo on his forehead, and his eyes were solid black.

"So, you're what's got all the vampires scared?" Buffy asked. The man did not respond, instead drawing a wicked-looking knife. By now, he was the poster boy for "evil cultist". He charged at Buffy, but he did so at human speed. She easily grabbed him and threw him against a stone column. There was a sickening crack as his head hit the column. He didn't move after that.

"Man, the vampires around here have gotten really pathetic," Angel said.

"Maybe I killed all the brave ones," Buffy replied.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, they returned home. Buffy was a little tired, but mostly she was hungry. She opened the fridge, only to find that the fresh groceries that Angel had bought were covered in blood. On closer inspection, one of the bags of blood was partially empty, and had two fang marks in the side.

"ANGEL!" she yelled.

"Did you drink half a bag and then put it back into the fridge?"

Angel had a what-did-I-do-wrong look. "Yes?"

"Well now it's leaking all over my food, and I have nothing to eat!"

"I'm sorry, Buffy…"

"Sorry?" She slapped him.

"When will you finally get it through your head that I live here now? You keep acting like you're the only one here!"

"To be fair, the place is a little small," Angel replied. "And while we're on the subject, I don't appreciate you taking up all the shower space with your shampoos and conditioners."

"It was your idea for me to live here!"

"And now I'm thinking that that was a bad idea." Angel didn't raise his voice, but his tone was quite angry nonetheless.

"I'm thinking you're right." Buffy grabbed her duffel bag and threw a few clothes in. "I'm going to Willow's."

"Don't let the door hit you on the ass!" Angel called as she walked out.

* * *

Buffy had had it. This whole "living with Angel" thing wasn't working out. She'd stay at Willow's for a while, then try to find –

Her train of thought was interrupted when a dozen cultists charged her.

"ANGEL!" she screamed.


	25. Domestic Strife: Act Four

Angel dashed outside, finding Buffy surrounded by cultists. Buffy swiftly became a blur of motion, dodging and ducking while she delivered her own blows. She sent a kick right to the chest of one cultist, which, judging by the _crack_, the way he collapsed to the ground, and the blood that spurted from his mouth, must have crushed several internal organs. Buffy grabbed another and flung him at two of his buddies, sending them all sprawling to the ground. Angel snapped his neck before he had a chance to get back up.

Even outnumbered six-to-one and unarmed, Buffy and Angel still had the advantage in strength, speed, and endurance. It had taken them mere seconds to disable or kill one third of their attackers. Then Buffy seized a knife from one of the fallen and tore into the rest.

Angel knew from experience that strength alone did not make one invincible. The existence of humans who fought vampires without superpowers and lived to tell about it proved this. A clever enough man could outwit his enemies by various means. But these cultists had not been clever. And numbers alone did not guarantee victory. If they did, Spike "Hey-let's-fight-that-large-and-angry-mob-for-fun" would have been dust ages ago. No human could hope to match a vampire – or for that matter a slayer – in close combat without much better weapons, a good plan, or a ton of luck.

When the last cultist fell, Buffy dropped her knife and embraced Angel.

"Are you okay?" he asked, one hand on the back of her head.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"Let's get you inside the house." He broke the embrace.

Buffy looked at him oddly.

* * *

"So the Rus practiced cremation in order to –"

"DING-DONG!" Jenny was rudely interrupted. Giles groaned and pried himself off the couch.

"Who the bloody hell is it –" Giles opened the door to find Buffy and Angel standing there. They looked like they had just been in a fight, and not with each other. Buffy's hair was a mess, and both of them had blood on their clothes. Hopefully not theirs.

"Uh, hi," Angel said.

"Our place is cursed," Buffy deadpanned. "Can we crash here?"

Giles was, for once, speechless.

* * *

When Buffy saw the wine glasses – and Ms. Calendar's outfit – she felt rather embarrassed. As weird as it was to think of Giles in a relationship, she knew how he and Ms. Calendar felt about each other. In fact, she had done quite a bit of work to get them together.

"So, your apartment is cursed?" Giles asked, pulling over a chair for Angel.

"Every time we go inside, we fight," Buffy explained. "And the minute we go outside, all those feelings go away."

"And it's a new development." Angel sat down in the proffered chair. "It's not the first time we've had our disagreements, but we've had three fights in the last two days."

"And our last fight sent me right into an ambush," Buffy added.

"I see." Giles sat back down next to Ms. Calendar.

"Could someone have cursed our apartment somehow?" Angel asked. "A spell?"

Giles shook his head. "Homes are sacred ground. They're immune to harmful magic. Just as vampires and certain other creatures cannot enter a home without an invitation, magic must be invited in. Has anyone else been inside your home?"

"Just you two, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, and Oz for the housewarming party," Buffy replied.

"Darla got in without an invitation," Angel said. Buffy and Giles looked at him with shock. Ms. Calendar was confused.

"Darla was in your apartment?" Giles spoke deliberately. "When did this happen?"

"Shortly before I killed her. Just after Buffy found out I was a vampire."

The reminder that Angel had been the one to kill Darla calmed Buffy.

"Vampire homes are not sacred ground," Angel continued.

"But that was before I moved in," Buffy pointed out. "It's my home now – we even changed the address in my school records. And this all started _after_ I moved in."

"But I'm still living there," Angel retorted. "Maybe having a demon on the premises changes things."

"It shouldn't." Giles was looking glum, the way he normally did when he couldn't come up with an answer to a problem.

A thought came to Buffy's head. "What if someone – a human – broke into the apartment while we were out and cast a spell?"

"Still an intruder." Giles sighed. "If they tried, the spell wouldn't work. Or it would backfire."

"Unless," Jenny raised a finger, "they didn't cast a spell _per se_. They could have left a cursed object behind, something that causes strife."

"So we find the cursed object and destroy it," Angel concluded.

"That may not be so easy," Jenny frowned. "It's probably small. It could be hidden in an out-of-the-way place."

"Could there be a spell to find it?"

"I imagine so…" Giles started for his books. Buffy raised a hand to stop him.

"Shouldn't we call the gang together? Research party?"

"Yes, I suppose that would be a good idea." Giles didn't stop moving.

* * *

Fortunately, it was still early enough in the evening that Xander, Willow, Cordelia, and Oz were awake and available for research. Willow and Oz arrived shortly – they both lived nearby. Cordelia and Xander arrived fifteen minutes later. Cordelia's hair was noticeably unkempt, which left little to the imagination about what she and Xander had been up to.

"So, I didn't quite catch what's going on," Cordelia . "All I got was 'Buffy's house is cursed, and we need to figure out a way to break the curse.'"

"It's more complicated than that," Giles handed her a book of spells. "We think there's a cursed object inside Buffy's house that's making her and Angel fight. We need a spell to find the object."

"Look for spells that find cursed objects. Got it." Cordelia sat down and began reading.

The problem wasn't just finding spells – there were plenty to detect other spells in effect. The problem was finding one they could actually use. A lot required a practicing witch to cast the spell. Others required components that would be difficult or immoral to obtain, like bamboo from the grove of Din Phu in Vietnam, seven ounces of diamond dust, or the still-beating heart of a virgin. Some Ms. Calendar rejected because they sounded fraudulent.

After three hours, Buffy could barely focus. Reading had never been her strong suit, and it didn't help that the fights with Angel and the cultists had taken a lot out of her. So she set down _Polinger's Spells And Charms_ and scanned the room.

It was the first time the gang had ever met at Giles' house. Angel, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, and Giles were scattered around the living room, with varying levels of focus on what they were doing. Giles was, of course, completely fixated on the pile of open books on his coffee table. Angel, standing, was speed-reading, skimming the books for useful information before returning them to the shelf. Oz sat in a green/red patterned chair, slowly paging through a modern-looking Wicca book. Cordelia and Xander sat at the kitchen counter. Cordelia was taking copious notes, as she often did in class, while Xander was mostly looking at her notes. Willow and Ms. Calendar had moved to the dining room, where they were busy with their laptops – unsurprisingly, Giles did not have a computer in his house.

"Aw, crap," Willow broke the silence. Everyone else immediately looked up from their books and at her, as much in a "what was that noise?" way as a "what is Willow saying?" way.

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"I thought I had found a database of spells, but it's in Chinese."

"I'm afraid I don't speak Chinese," Giles said glumly.

"I do," Angel got up and walked over. "Willow, could you help me navigate?"

"Sure, just translate what everything says."

They began chatting away as Angel read everything from spell descriptions to menu buttons aloud. The others returned to their reading, but Buffy listened in.

"OK, I think we've got something!" Willow announced cheerfully after an hour.

"You've found a spell we can use? No witch, no virgin's heart?"

Angel scanned the text. "It says nothing about a practiced caster – it's a charm used to counter evil curses. We'll need some supplies – gingko tea and incense."

Giles stood up from the couch and walked over to a cupboard, where he kept his occult supplies. "I should have some incense…"

Cordelia sat up. "I have gingko at my house." She slipped off her stool and ran out the door without a word, keys held in her hand. Buffy heard the sound of her car starting a moment later.

"What else do we need to do?" Buffy asked, walking over.

Angel focused intently on the computer screen. "There's an incantation you'll need to read – in Chinese."

"You'll help me through it?" Buffy placed her hand on Angel's. He looked into her eyes.

"We'll do it together," he half-whispered.

"You'll need to be careful," Giles warned. "I've been looking into these kinds of curses. They play on your emotions. In this case, any disagreement, no matter how small, could turn into another fight. From the moment you step into your home, you cannot disagree with each other on anything. Otherwise, you will surely fail."

* * *

Cordelia returned unusually fast. Giles had prepared the tea for them, then poured it into a flask. He then dropped Buffy and Angel off at their apartment.

Buffy turned to Angel. "So, before we go inside, anything we need to work out?"

"Well, I was thinking that the space in front of the bed would be good to do the ritual…" he started.

"I meant about our relationship," Buffy's voice was measured but firm.

"Buffy…" Angel took her hands in his, bending slightly at the waist to bring his head closer to hers.

"We both have our issues. We're not perfect. What I said about maturity the other day is true. You're still a seventeen-year-old girl."

Buffy's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Angel…"

"But what you said is also true. You've done far more good in your short life than I have in mine. And that you were able to grasp that shows exceptional wisdom and insight on your part. It's taken me over two hundred years to get to where I am now. Your wisdom comes naturally."

Buffy smiled. She had never thought of herself as _wise_.

"After we get rid of this curse," she began, "we'll sit down and figure out how to live together. Who buys food, who buys blood, where everything goes…"

"…who's a reliable source of information," Angel finished. That got a giggle out of Buffy.

"I love you, Angel," she said.

"I love you, Buffy," he replied.

"Let's do this."

Once they entered, Buffy was quiet. She meant to say as few words as possible until they had broken the curse. They sat down next to the bed, facing each other. Angel placed the incense in the center, and lit it with a match. Now for the tea.

First, Angel drank.

_I hope he doesn't drink it all,_ Buffy thought. Fortunately, when he handed the flask to her, it was still heavy with liquid. Buffy drank the rest.

"Now, repeat after me." Angel took out a piece of paper and read aloud.

"Pingjing he zhixu."

Buffy tried to form her mouth around the unfamiliar sounds. "Ping_jing_ he zhi_xu_."

"No, you need to stress the first syllable. _Ping_jing he _zhi_xu."

"_Ping_jing he _zhi_xu," Buffy repeated.

"Good," Angel smiled. "Now in reverse. _Zhi_xu he _ping_jing."

"_Zhi_xu he _ping_jing."

"_Ping_jing he _zhi_xu."

"_Ping_jing he _zhi_xu."

"_Zhi_xu he _ping_jing."

"_Zhi_xu he _ping_jing."

Suddenly, Buffy became aware of a powerful sensation coming from her dresser. Judging by the way Angel's head snapped in the same direction as hers, he felt it too. Slowly, they got up and walked towards it. Buffy's hand went straight for the third drawer. She pulled it out and dumped her clothes on the floor.

And there, buried in the middle of the pile, was a miniature golden apple. Buffy picked it up, and carried it over the sink. Channeling her anger, she crushed it into dust. She turned on the faucet, and the dust was washed away.

_Just like the blood I destroyed._

She turned back to Angel. He smirked.

"I really didn't think that simply crushing a magic anger-causing golden apple was the right idea."

"Good thing it worked," she replied brightly.

"Come here," he opened his arms. She practically leapt into them.

"Can the long discussion wait?" he asked. "I have some other things I want to do first."

Buffy looked into his eyes. They both smiled.

Despite all that had happened, despite the Hellmouth itself trying to tear them apart, Buffy and Angel were together. And happy.

* * *

Jenny was afraid.

She feared that Buffy or Rupert would find out that she had planted the Apple of Circe in Angel's apartment. Everything she had done, she did for her family, but it still felt like betrayal.

But even more, she feared what her uncle would do when he learned of her failure.

It wasn't that she had screwed up. There was no spell within her reach to make two people stop loving each other. Indeed, she didn't think that there was one. In fact, she was sure that Enyos would realize this. And now he would have only one path left open to him, if he was to ensure that Angel never knew happiness.

Janna Kalderash collapsed on her bed, sobbing in sheer terror.

* * *

A/N: FINALLY! Thanks to everyone for sticking it out so long.

I wish I could say that the next chapter would come soon. Unfortunately, I have other fanfic to write, and I have yet to outline the next episode. Don't worry, it will come.

The Chinese translation is courtesy of Google Translate. It means "serenity and order". If I knew Chinese, I would probably have done something properly with the tonal element. Unfortunately, my only foreign language is Hebrew, which for historical and religious reasons is really unsuited to magical incantations. So I apologize if I butchered it. Which I probably did.

I couldn't find a space to explain the origin of the Apple of Circe in the story, so I'll do it here. Circe is the Greek goddess of strife. Once, there was a party on Mount Olympus held by Zeus. Circe was not invited, because Zeus is an idiot. She crashed the party, and left a golden apple, with the words "for the most beautiful" inscribed on it. Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena each lay claim to it. Zeus, not wanting to anger any of them, decided to delegate the decision to Paris, prince of Troy. Each goddess tried to bribe him. Hera offered him fame and glory, Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world, and Athena offered him fortune on the battlefield. Paris, being a guy, went for Aphrodite's offer. Unfortunately, the woman in question was the daughter of Menelaus, king of the Greek city of Mycenea, who did not like the idea of his daughter running off with some Trojan prince one bit. The end result was a little scrap called the Trojan War. Which, I imagined, suited Circe just fine.

So I felt that a golden apple made an appropriate symbol of strife.


End file.
